American cranberry, Cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon

Family: Ericaceae

What it is like

A perennial shrub. It grows 0.9 m high and spreads 1.5-3 m wide. It is low growing and evergreen. It forms roots as it spreads. The leaves are dark green. They are lighter underneath. The leaves are 5-8 mm long by 2-3 mm wide. The leaves have round tips and edges that roll under. The flowers are mauve. The stamens are longer than the petals. The flower stalks are slender and curved. The fruit are red. They are 12-20 mm across. They have 4 locules full of seeds. The seeds are small and there can be a few or up to 50 in each fruit. The fruit deepen in colour as they ripen. There are many named cultivated varieties.

It has anticancer properties.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. They grow in sandy bogs that are irrigated. It grows in damp acidic soils mainly between 40°N and 50°N. It needs a very acidic soil. A pH of 4.0-5.5 is suitable. It suits hardiness zones 2-9.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, Europe, Lithuania, North America, Tasmania, USA

How it is used for food

The fruit are used for pies, tarts, relishes and for sauce. They are used for juice. They are especially used for cranberry sauce with turkey meat. The dried fruit are called craysons.

It is cultivated. Over 150,000 tons are produced each year.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are usually grown from prunings from old plants. Cuttings can be used. They are pushed well into the damp ground leaving only about 5 cm exposed. Conditions should be moist and humid but not waterlogged.

The flowers and fruit are produced on side shoots from the upright vines. The fruit are harvested by flooding the marshes and collecting them as they float. A useful crop can be harvested 4 years after planting.

Its other names

Local names

Airelle a gros fruits, Arando trepador, Craisons, Da guo yue jie, Kranbeere, Large cranberry, Mirtillo palustre

Synonyms

Oxycoccus macrocarpos (Aiton) Pers.; Oxycoccus palustris var macrocarpus (Aiton) Pers.; and others