x
FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

 

Vaccinium oxycoccos L.

Small cranberry

The small cranberry likes acidic bogs, like its cousin the large cranberry.

Plants: Small cranberries form mats of tiny shrubs only a few centimeters in height.

Leaves: Leaf edges are rolled under. Leaves are opposite, roughly oval (ovate), wider at the base, pointed at the tip.

Flowers: Dark pink, and four-petaled, with the petals bending way back to the stem (”reflexed”).

Fruits: Less than ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter, while large cranberries are more than ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter. Both are deep red when ripe.

Habitats: Acidiic bogs and fens in moist forest habitats.

Vaccinium oxycoccos (small cranberry)

Small cranberry leaves are curved. From dic.academic.ru.

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

Edibility: Fruit is edible, raw or cooked, although it is very tart when raw. The tartness is usually tempered with sugar.

Medical:

Online References:

Wikipedia

Plants for a Future

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Alaskawildflowers.us

Flora of North America

Oxycoccus hagerupii Á. Löve & D. Löve
Oxycoccus intermedius (A. Gray) Rydb.
Oxycoccus microcarpos Turcz. ex Rupr.
Oxycoccus ovalifolius (Michx.) A.E. Porsild
Oxycoccus oxycoccos (L.) MacMill.
Oxycoccus oxycoccos (L.) Adolphi
Oxycoccus palustris Pers.
Oxycoccus palustris Pers. var. intermedius (A. Gray) Howell
Oxycoccus palustris Pers. ssp. microphyllus (Lange) Á. Löve & D. Löve
Oxycoccus palustris Pers. var. ovalifolius (Michx.) Seymour
Oxycoccus quadripetalus Gilib.
Oxycoccus quadripetalus Gilib. var. microphyllus (Lange) A.E. Porsild
Vaccinium microcarpos (Turcz. ex Rupr.) Schmalh.
Vaccinium oxycoccos L. var. intermedium A. Gray
Vaccinium oxycoccos L. var. microphyllum (Lange) J. Rousseau & Raymond
Vaccinium oxycoccos L. ssp. microphyllum (Lange) J. Feilberg
Vaccinium oxycoccos L. var. ovalifolium Michx.

 

Vaccinium oxycoccos (small cranberry)

See the frog? · 9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm)

Vaccinium oxycoccos (small cranberry)

9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm)

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassAsteridaeA large class that encompasses asters
OrderEricalesTea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, azalea, many others
FamilyEricaceaeHeath or heather family
GenusVacciniumAncient Latin name for billberry
SpeciesoxycoccosOld Latin name for “acid-berry”

About plant names...

Range:

About this map...

Vaccinium oxycoccos description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.