Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton

American cranberry, cranberry, large cranberry

About plant names...

Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs with a fondness for acidic bogs.

Identification: Cranberries are vine-like, creeping up to 6′ (1.8 m) horizontally, but less than 8″ (20 cm) high. If you aren't standing or floating in a bog, you probably aren't looking at cranberries. Flowers are pale pink or white, about ½″ (1.3 cm) long, with four petals that curve strongly backward. Berries are ½-1″ (1.3-2.5 cm) in diameter and quite hard, like tiny apples. Leaves are about ½″ (1.3 cm) long, oval, shiny on top. See also the small cranberry.

This Vaccinium comparison chart also includes a couple of similar-appearing species that are not Vaccinium.

Edibility: Cranberries are too tart to eat fresh, but they have long been made into jams, cakes, muffins, and juice.

Medical: Several medical studies have explored the folk belief that regular consumption of cranberry juice reduces the rate of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women. Results were mixed.

Online References:

Www.carolinanature.com

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Www.nativeplanttrust.org

Www.umass.edu (PDF)

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

The Steven Foster Group

No, that’s not a cranberry flower. · 9/16/2016 · Sieur de Monts Botanical Gardens, Bar Harbor, Maine

8/18/2013 · Bemis Road, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm)

10/27/2017 · Bemis Road Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)

8/31/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm)

10/8/2016 · Groton Town Forest, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

Vaccinium macrocarpon description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 1 Sep 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

10/27/2017 · Bemis Road Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

9/1/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

10/8/2016 · Groton Town Forest, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

4/14/2013 · Bemis Rd, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts ID is uncertain

10/27/2017 · Bemis Road Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)

8/1/2009 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 13 × 9″ (33 × 22 cm)

9/1/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

8/31/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm)

8/1/2009 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (74 × 49 cm)

9/1/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

7/5/2017 · Bemis Rd., Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm)

8/18/2013 · Bemis Road, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm)

Range:

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