Cranberry

A cranberry is a fruit. It grows on an evergreen dwarf shrub. Cranberries are in the genus Vaccinium, and its subgenus Oxycoccus. In some classification methods, they are regarded as a genus in their own right.

Cranberries

Cranberry plants grow in acidic bogs in cooler areas of the northern hemisphere. They are low creeping shrubs up to seven feet (3 m) long, from two to eight inches (5-20 cm) high. They have slender and wiry stems with small leaves which are evergreen with dark pink flowers. Cranberries are traditionally eaten during Christmas and Thanksgiving in the United States. They are also eaten in Europe and some parts of South America.

Cranberries are important cash crops for certain northern U.S. states, Canada, and Chile. They are turned into juice, sauce or jam. Since 2005, cranberries have been marketed as superfruit for their antioxidant and nutrient qualities.