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. PMID 19751320. doi:10.1111/j.1447-0756.2009.01026.x.


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