Taxonomy |
Vaccinium oxycoccus L.
ERICACEAE (Heath Family)
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Etymology | Vaccinium, the ancient Latin name for bilberry; oxycoccus means acidic, round berry, from the Greek: oxys = sharp or pungent and kokkos = a round berry. | |
Synonyms (Common Name) | Northern Cranberry, Marsh Whortleberry | |
Description | A low, trailing, evergreen shrub, Small Cranberry is more slender and diminutive than American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon). In both species, the flowers resemble the head and neck of a crane; hence, the name cranberry comes from "crane's berry." | |
Wetland indicator status | OBL | |
Plant Height | to 12 inches | |
Leaves | Evergreen, alternate, simple, entire, less than 1/4" long, ovate to ovate-oblong to triangular with pointed tip; leathery, shiny, dark green above; underside is white; margins deeply inrolled; maroon-brown in winter. | |
Flower/Inflorescence | Pale pink, small (1/2"); long orange stamens and red style protrude "beak-like" from the center of four recurved petals; in 2's or 4's on slender stalks that are terminal -- at the tips of the short, upright branches. | |
Flowering Period | May-July | |
Fruit | Bright red berry, less than 1/2" wide; round to pear-shaped, tart. | |
Fruiting Period | August-October | |
Habitat | Bogs and acidic peatlands. | |
Range | Labrador to Alaska; south to Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, W. Virginia, New Jersey. | |
Associates |
Trees: |
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Shrubs: |
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Herbs/Groundcovers: | Sphagnum mosses
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Similar Species |
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American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) grows in more minerotrophic habitats, although sometimes the two cranberries are found side by side. American Cranberry has larger leaves with rounded tips and pale undersides.; the leaf margins do not curl. The leaves of Small Cranberry have pointed tips, white undersides, and noticeably inrolled margins. One good diagnostic is location of the flower/fruit stalks: on American Cranberry, the stalks arise from mid-branch; on Small Cranberry, flower stalks are terminal, borne at the tip of an upright branch.
Creeping snowberry Gaultheria hispidula) has white berries and white, bell-shaped flowers; its short-stalked leaves smell like wintergreen when crushed.
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Seasonal Diagnostics |
Spring: | Pale pink flowers in June and July. |
Summer: | Pale green unripe berries. |
Fall: | Ripe, bright or dark red berries that persist into winter. |
Winter: | Evergreen leaves turn maroon-brown. |
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