This article is about a group of plant species. For the rock band, see The Cranberries. Wild cranberry cranberry sauce also refer to Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Approximate ranges of the cranberries in sect.

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. Cranberries are related to bilberries, blueberries, and huckleberries, all in Vaccinium subgenus Vaccinium. These differ in having bell-shaped flowers, the petals not being reflexed, and woodier stems, forming taller shrubs. Northern Hemisphere, including northern Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America. The flowers are dark pink, with a purple central spike, produced on finely hairy stalks. The fruit is a small pale pink to red berry, with a refreshing sharp acidic flavor.

North America, northern Europe and northern Asia. It is highly similar to V. North America at high altitudes in the southern Appalachian Mountains, and also in eastern Asia. English by the missionary John Eliot in 1647. The Cranberry Harvest on the Island of Nantucket, Eastman Johnson, 1880.

In North America, the Narragansett people of the Algonquian nation in the regions of New England appeared to be using cranberries in pemmican for food and for dye. Sauce for the Pilgrims, cranberry or bearberry, is a small trayling plant that grows in salt marshes that are overgrown with moss. They are excellent against the Scurvy. They are also good to allay the fervor of hoof diseases. The Compleat Cook’s Guide, published in 1683, made reference to cranberry juice. In 1703, cranberries were served at the Harvard University commencement dinner.

American Revolutionary War veteran Henry Hall first cultivated cranberries in the Cape Cod town of Dennis around 1816. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Historically, cranberry beds were constructed in wetlands.