Biology:Vaccinium oxycoccos
| Vaccinium oxycoccos | |
|---|---|
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| fruit on a bed of Sphagnum rubellum | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Vaccinium |
| Subgenus: | Oxycoccus |
| Species: | V. oxycoccos
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vaccinium oxycoccos L. 1753
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| Synonyms[3][4] | |
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Synonymy
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Vaccinium oxycoccos is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry,[5] or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry.[6] It is widespread throughout the cool temperate northern hemisphere, including northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.[5]
Description
This cranberry is a small, prostrate shrub with vine-like stems that root at the nodes. The leaves are leathery and lance-shaped, up to 1 cm (0.39 in) long.[5] Flowers arise on nodding stalks a few centimeters tall. The corolla is white or pink and flexed backward away from the center of the flower. The fruit is a red berry which has spots when young. It measures up to 1.2 cm (0.47 in) wide.[4][7] The plant forms associations with mycorrhizae. It mainly reproduces vegetatively.[5]
Distribution and habitat
Vaccinium oxycoccos is a widespread and common species occurring broadly across cooler climates in the temperate northern hemisphere.[5][2][8][9][10] It is an indicator of moist to wet soils which are low in nitrogen and have a high water table. It is an indicator of coniferous swamps. It grows in bogs and fens in moist forest habitat. It grows on peat which may be saturated most of the time. The soil in bogs is acidic and low in nutrients. The plant's mycorrhizae help it obtain nutrients in this situation. Fens have somewhat less acidic soil, which is also higher in nutrients. The plant can often be found growing on hummocks of Sphagnum mosses.
Ecology
In North America, other species found in this forest understory habitat include leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla), bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), rhodora (Rhododendron canadense), glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), sundew (Drosera spp.), cottonsedge (Eriophorum virginatum and E. angustifolium), and species of sedge and lichen. The plant easily colonizes bog habitat that has recently burned. It survives fire with its underground rhizomes.[4][5]
Uses
The berries of Vaccinium oxycoccos are edible[11] and have been used both as a medicine and as a food by various Native American communities. Some Iñupiat cook the cranberry with fish eggs and blubber.[12][13]
References
- ↑ Maiz-Tome, L. (2016). "Vaccinium oxycoccos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T64326221A67731197. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64326221A67731197.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/64326221/67731197.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Vaccinium oxycoccos". https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.153122/Vaccinium_oxycoccos.
- ↑ "Vaccinium oxycoccos". The Plant List. Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew). http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Vaccinium+oxycoccos.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Fang, Ruizheng; Steven, Peter F., "Vaccinium oxycoccus", Flora of China, 14, http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242444179
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Matthews, Robin F. (1992), Vaccinium oxycoccos, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/vacoxy/all.html
- ↑ Stace, Clive (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 512. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5. https://archive.org/details/newflorabritishi00stac.
- ↑ Vander Kloet, Sam P. (2009), "Vaccinium oxycoccos", in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA), 8, New York and Oxford, http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200016697
- ↑ "Vaccinium oxycoccos", County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA) (Biota of North America Program (BONAP)), 2014, http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Vaccinium%20oxycoccos.png
- ↑ "Vaccinium oxycoccos L." (in fr). http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-70493-synthese. Photos, description, French distribution map.
- ↑ "Vaccinium oxycoccos L." (in it). http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=vaccinium+oxycoccos. Photos and European distribution map.
- ↑ Benoliel, Doug (2011). Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest (Rev. and updated ed.). Seattle, WA: Skipstone. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-1-59485-366-1. OCLC 668195076. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/668195076.
- ↑ Jones, Anore (1983). "Nauriat niginaqtuat (Plants that we eat)". Maniilaq Association Traditional Nutrition Program (Kotzebue, Alaska): 104. According to the brief annotation in (Anonymous 2003).
- ↑ Anonymous (2003). "Vaccinium oxycoccos L.". Native American Ethnobotany. Dearborn, MI: University of Michigan-Dearborn. http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/4084/.
External links
- Washington Burke Museum, University of Washington
- illustration from Flora of China Illustrations vol. 14, fig. 688, 2-5
- "Vaccinium oxycoccos". http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Vaccinium+oxycoccos.
- Go Botany, New England Wildflower Society
- Luontoportti, NatureGate, Isokarpalo (Vaccinium oxycoccos) description, photos, ecological and culinary information, link to distribution map for Finland
- Native Plant Database profile, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin
- Ontario Wildflowers
Wikidata ☰ Q374399 entry
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