Editing Cranberry (section)

== Description and species ==
Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to {{convert|2|m|ft|0|sp=us}} long and {{Convert|5|to|20|cm|0|sp=us}} in height;<ref>{{cite web |title=About Cranberries |url=http://www.cranberryinstitute.org/about_cranberry.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109050831/http://www.cranberryinstitute.org/about_cranberry.htm |archive-date=9 January 2010 |access-date=13 November 2009 |publisher=Cranberry Institute}}</ref> they have slender, wiry stems that are not thickly woody and have small [[evergreen]] leaves. The flowers are dark pink, with very distinct reflexed petals, leaving the [[Gynoecium|style]] and [[stamen]]s fully exposed and pointing forward. They are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a [[berry (botany)|berry]] that is larger than the leaves of the plant; it is initially light green, turning red when ripe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keith |first=Gabriel |title=Cranberries: A colorful and nutritious fruit |url=https://extension.sdstate.edu/cranberries-colorful-and-nutritious-fruit |access-date=20 October 2023 |publisher=South Dakota State University Extension |language=en-us}}</ref> It has an acidic taste which usually overwhelms its sweetness.

There are 4–5 species of cranberry, classified by [[subgenus]]:<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/cranberry|title=Encyclopaedia Britannica: Cranberry|date=23 October 2023 }}</ref>

===Subgenus ''Oxycoccus''===
{| class="wikitable"
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! Image !! Name !! Description !! Distribution
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|[[File:Журавлина.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Vaccinium oxycoccos]]'' or ''Oxycoccus palustris'' (common cranberry, northern cranberry or cranberry) ||  It has small {{cvt|5|–|10|mm|in|frac=8}} leaves, with an inrolled margin. 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 (botany)|berry]], with a refreshing sharp acidic flavor.|| Widespread throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere, including northern Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America.
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|[[File:20121015-FS-UNK-0009 (8090982330).jpg|120px]]||''[[Vaccinium microcarpum]]'' or ''Oxycoccus microcarpus'' (small cranberry) || It is highly similar to ''V. oxycoccos'', differing in the leaves being more triangular, and the flower stems hairless; additionally, their stems can also be smaller and produce a smaller number of flowers than ''V.&nbsp;ocycoccos''. They also differ in the fact that their leaves can be smaller in size, even though the main difference is their triangular shape.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235743745 |title=''Vaccinium Oxycoccos'' L. (''Oxycoccus Palustris'' Pers.) and ''Vaccinium Microcarpum'' (Turcz. ex Rupr.) Schmalh. (''Oxycoccus Microcarpus'' Turcz. ex Rupr.) |doi= 10.2307/2960511 |first=Anne-Laure |last=Jacquemart |journal= Journal of Ecology |volume= 85 |issue= 3 |year= 1997 |pages= 381–396 |jstor=2960511 |bibcode=1997JEcol..85..381J }}</ref> Some botanists include it within ''V. oxycoccos''.||Occurs in northern North America,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub29.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020225121823/http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub29.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 February 2002 |title=''Oxycoccus microcarpus'' Small Cranberry |publisher=Lakehead University |author=Faculty of Natural Resources Management |website=borealforest.org }}</ref> northern Europe and northern Asia.
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|[[File:Vaccinium macrocarpon 15-p.bot-vacci.macro-17.jpg|120px]]||''[[Vaccinium macrocarpon]]'' or ''Oxycoccus macrocarpus'' (large cranberry, American cranberry, bearberry) || It differs from ''V. oxycoccos'' in the leaves being larger, {{cvt|10|–|20|mm|in|frac=8}} long, and flat, and in the slightly apple-like taste of the berries. ||Native to northern North America across Canada, and eastern United States, south to [[North Carolina]] at high altitudes). 
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===Subgenus ''Oxycoccus'', sect. ''Oxycoccoides''===
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! Image !! Name !! Description !! Distribution
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|[[File:Vaccinium erythrocarpum in bud.jpg|frameless]]
|''[[Vaccinium erythrocarpum]]'' or ''Oxycarpus erythrocarpus'' (southern mountain cranberry, bearberry) ||  This species differs significantly from sect. ''oxycoccus'' cranberries particularly in growth habit. A deciduous shrub, their flowers are borne in June of a tubular shape with reflexed petals consistent with the rest of the subgenera. They produce edible scarlet berries described as being seemingly translucent. || Native to southeastern United States at high altitudes in the southern [[Appalachian Mountains]]
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|[[File:Vaccinium japonicum (flower).jpg|frameless]]
|''[[Vaccinium japonicum]]''
|They are typically found in forests and thickets within alpine areas between {{Convert|1000 - 2600|m}}.
|Native to Southern China, Taiwan, the Japanese archipelago, and the Korean Peninsula
|}

=== Similar species ===
Cranberries are related to [[bilberries]], [[blueberries]], and [[huckleberries]], all in ''Vaccinium'' subgenus ''Vaccinium''. These differ in having bell-shaped flowers, petals that are not reflexed, and woodier stems, forming taller shrubs.<ref name=":1" />