Cranberry

Cranberries
Cranberry bush with fruit partially submerged in bog
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Vaccinium
Subgenus:	Vaccinium subg. Oxycoccus (Hill) A.Gray
Species
Vaccinium erythrocarpum Vaccinium japonicum Vaccinium macrocarpon Vaccinium microcarpum Vaccinium oxycoccos

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to 2 meters (7 ft) long and 5 to 20 centimeters (2 to 8 in) in height; they have slender stems that are not thickly woody and have small evergreen leaves. The flowers are dark pink. The fruit is a berry that is larger than the leaves of the plant; it is initially light green, turning red when ripe. It is edible, but has an acidic taste.

In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species Vaccinium oxycoccos,^[1] while in North America, cranberry may refer to V. macrocarpon.^[2] Vaccinium oxycoccos is cultivated in central and northern Europe, while V. macrocarpon is cultivated throughout the northern United States, Canada and Chile.^[3] In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right.^[4] Cranberries can be found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

In 2020, the U.S., Canada, and Chile accounted for 97% of the world production of cranberries. Most cranberries are processed into products such as juice, sauce, jam, and sweetened dried cranberries, with the remainder sold fresh to consumers. Cranberry sauce is a traditional accompaniment to turkey at Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners in the U.S. and Canada, and at Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom.^[5]