g £ C 3 J9 ]
VACCINIUM Oxycoccos.
Cranberry.
0 C ' T A N D R I A Monogynia•
Gen. Char. Cor. of i petal. Filaments ariling from
the receptacle. Berry inferior, with 4 cells and
many feeds.
Spec. Char. Leaves evergreen, entire, revolute,
ovate, acute. Stems creeping, thread-fhaped,
fmoOth.
Syn. Vaccinium Oxycoccos. Linn. Sp. P I. 500.
Hudf. F I. A n. 164. With. Rot. A r r . 39 3 . Relh.
Cant. 15 4 . Dick/. H . Sicc.fafc. 5. 1 r.
Oxycoccus feu Vaccinia paluftria. R a ii Syn. 267.
S e N T from n e a r Sc a rb o ro u g h by M r . W . T rav is. I t grows
o n tu rfy b ogs, moftly e n ta n g led in tu fts o f Sphagnum an d o th e r
b og modes, w h ic h cover th e fu rfac e o f c le ar {hallow w a te rs, fa
th a t th o fe wh o g a th e r th e fru it a re obliged to wade up to th e ir
m id d le to g e t a t it. T h e flowers come o u t in Ju n e* an d the
b e rrie s rip e n in A u g u ft. T h e roots a re p e ren n ial.
S tem s fh ru b b y , {lender, tra ilin g an d c re ep in g by means of
lo n g fibrous ro o ts. B ran ch e s fc a tte re d , p ro c um b e n t, leafy,
flowe ring a b o u t th e u p p e r p a rt. L eav es a lte rn a te , on {hort
fo o t-fta lk s, fmall, e v e rg re en , o va te , e n tire , rev o lu te in th e margin
; d a rk {hining g re en a b o v e ; glaucous b en e a th . F low e r-
ftalks about an in ch lo n g , re d , w ith a few fc a tte red o r oppofite
bra£teae, an d e ach b e a rin g one d ro o p in g re d flower o f Angular
e leganc e . Calyx in 4 obtufe frin g ed fegments. Corolla deeply
divided in to 4 ovate p e ta ls, on w h ic h a c c o u n t fome have ju d g ed
th is fpecies to fo rm a d iftin ft g en u s from Vaccinium. S tamin a
flat, d ow n y . A n th e r s de eply cloven, d ifcha rging th e p ollen by a
h o le in e ach p o in t. B e rry pear-{haped o r g lobula r, o f 4 cells, red
w h e n a rriv ed a t m a tu rity , an d o ften fp o tted . O u r figure re -
p re fe n ts it n o t fu lly rip e , in o rd e r to {hew th e cells.
C ra n b e rrie s , w h e n p re p a re d w ith fu g a r, are g ra te fu l to m o lt
p a la te s. T h e y a re b ro u g h t to L o n d o n from th e mo o rlan d c o u n tie
s , an d even im p o rte d from R u flia . T h e Swede s have no
id e a o f p u ttin g th em to any o th e r ufe th a n to boil filver p la te to
its p ro p e r w h iten e fs, th e {harp a cid o f th e c ran b e rry co rro d in g
th e e x te rn a l p a rtic le s o f th e co p p er alloy.