CRANBERRY encyclopedia topics

cranberry, low creeping evergreen bog plant of the genus Oxycoccus of the family Ericaceae (heath family). Cranberries are considered by some botanists to belong to the blueberry genus Vaccinium. The cultivated species is the native American or large cranberry (O. or V. macrocarpus). The tart red berries are used for sauces, jellies, pies, and beverages. The Massachusetts colonists probably served wild cranberries with turkey at the first harvest feast in 1621, establishing a Thanksgiving tradition. Commercial cultivation began in Massachusetts in the early 19th cent., then in New Jersey and Wisconsin, later in Washington and Oregon and in Canada. United States cranberry acreage now totals c.25,000. Massachusetts leads in production, followed by Wisconsin and New Jersey. Cranberry bogs are flooded to control weeds, to protect against cold, and to facilitate harvesting. Cranberry is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Ericales, family Ericaceae. The high-bush cranberry or cranberry tree, a member of the honeysuckle family, is unrelated.

See P. Eck, The American Cranberry (1990).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

cranberry

Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

Fruit of any of several small creeping or trailing plants of the genus Vaccinium (heath family), related to the blueberry. The small-fruited, or northern, cranberry (V. oxycoccus) is found in marshy land in northern North America and Asia and in northern and central Europe. Its crimson berries, about the size of currants and often spotted, have an acid taste. The American cranberry (V. macrocarpon), found wild in most of the northeastern U.S. and grown extensively in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin and near the Pacific coast in Washington and Oregon, is more robust than V. oxycoccus, with larger, pink to very dark red or mottled red-and-white berries. Cranberries are used in drinks, sauces, jellies, and baked goods.

Learn more about cranberry with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Cranberry
Cranberry Concentrate & Supplements Order Today, Buy One Get Two Free!
www.Puritan.com

Free Seminar
Learn to make $9325 per hour Pittsburgh Events Limited Seating
Sponsored Results www.jimtonerswealthbuilders.com