Rank Species | Subgenus Oxycoccos Higher classification Blueberries | |
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Similar Blueberries, Cranberry, Lingonberry, Currant, European blueberry | ||
Vaccinium macrocarpon cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon (also called large cranberry, American cranberry and bearberry) is a North American species of cranberry of the subgenus Oxycoccus and genus Vaccinium.
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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). It is also naturalized in parts of Europe and in scattered locations along the Pacific Coast of North America (from California to British Columbia).
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.
The species is grown commercially for its edible berries. Many of these are grown in artificial ponds called cranberry bogs. There is some evidence suggesting that the berries or their juice is useful in treating certain urinary tract infections.
Flora view grote veenbes cranberry vaccinium macrocarpon
