Small Cranberry

Vaccinium oxycoccos

Foliage Type:

leaf

Arrangement:

simple, alternate

Distinguishing features: trailing evergreen shrub wioth slender stems up to 3 feet long leaves - very short-stalked, egg-shaped or triangular, broadly rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base, pointed at tip leaves - 1/8 to 1/4 inch long, margin untoothed and rolled, dark green, lustrous above and white beneath flowers - pink, recurved lobes, solitaryor 2 to 4 on slender stalks, blooming May to July fruit - red, rarely 3/8 inch in diameter, very sour, ripening August to October

Habitats:	wet (sphagnum bogs) sites
Often confused with:	Creeping Snowberry Large Cranberry
Ecological Value:	wildlife tend to ignore the berries
Did You Know?	Berries are sour on their own, but are good as a jam. The namecame from "Kranebere" or crane-berry due to the long stamens resembling the beak of a crane.
Uses / Ethnobotanical uses:	Early settlers picked the berries and Native Americans used them in trade. Ojibwa made tea out of the leaves to cure nausea