Vaccinium macrocarpon

Vaccinium macrocarpon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Vaccinium
Subgenus: Oxycoccos
Species: V. macrocarpon
Binomial name
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Aiton 1789
Synonyms[1][2]

Vaccinium macrocarpon (also called large cranberry, American cranberry and bearberry) is a North American species of cranberry of the subgenus Oxycoccus and genus Vaccinium.

Vaccinium macrocarpon is native to central and eastern Canada (Ontario to Newfoundland) and the northeastern and north-central United States (Northeast, Great Lakes Region, and Appalachians as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee).[3] It is also naturalized in parts of Europe and scattered locations in North America along western Canada (British Columbia) and the western United States (West Coast).

Vaccinium macrocarpon is a shrub, often ascending (trailing along the surface of the ground for some distance but then curving upwards). It produces white or pink flowers followed by sour-tasting red or pink berries 9–14 mm (0.35–0.55 in) across.[4][5]

The species is grown commercially as a cash crop for its edible berries.[6] Many of these are grown in artificial ponds called cranberry bogs.[7] There is some evidence suggesting that the berries or their juice is useful in treating certain urinary tract infections.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. Tropicos, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton
  2. The Plant List, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton
  3. "Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map". BONAP.net. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  4. Flora of North America, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton, 1789. Cranberry, canneberge gros fruits
  5. Aiton, William. 1789. Hortus Kewensis, or, A catalogue of the plants cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew 2: 13 and plate 7 description in Latin on page 13; full-page color illustration on plate 7 (between pages 12 and 13)
  6. "Vaccinium macrocarpon American Cranberry, Cranberry PFAF Plant Database". www.PFAF.org. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. University of Massachusetts, Natural History of the American Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.
  8. Mayo Clinic, Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)
  9. Pérez-López, FR; Haya, J; Chedraui, P. "Vaccinium macrocarpon: an interesting option for women with recurrent urinary tract infections and other health benefits". J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 35: 630–9. doi:10.1111/j.1447-0756.2009.01026.x. PMID 19751320.
  • Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas
  • Zalapa, J.E.; Bougie, T.C.; Bougie, T.A.; Schlautman, B.J.; Wiesman, E.; Guzman, A.; Fajardo, D.A.; Steffan, S.; Smith, T. (6 November 2014). "Clonal diversity and genetic differentiation revealed by SSR markers in wild Vaccinium macrocarpon and Vaccinium oxycoccos". Annals of Applied Biology. 166 (2): 196–207. doi:10.1111/aab.12173.


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