A calcifuge plant, it is easily grown in a moist lime-free peaty soil. Unlike most members of this genus, this species is hermaphrodite and self-fertile. There has been some confusion over the name of this plant. Some authorities refer to it as E. hermaphroditum and others include it in E. nigrum or E. eamesii.

Fruit - raw or cooked. A watery flavor, it is mainly used for making drinks, pies, preserves etc. The Inuit dry or freeze them for winter use. The fruit is about 4mm in diameter. A tea can be made from the twigs.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. The seed can be very slow to germinate, stored seed requires 5 months warm then 3 months cold stratification at 5°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 3cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Takes 3 weeks. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, 3cm with a heel, October in a frame. Requires shade. Good percentage.

On mountain tops and moors, mostly at high altitudes but down to sea level in the far north of its range.