Vaccinium macrocarpon

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Vaccinium macrocarpon
Cranberry bog.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Vaccinium
Subgenus: Vaccinium subg. Oxycoccus
Species:
V. macrocarpon
Binomial name
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Aiton 1789
Synonyms [1] [2]
Synonymy
  • Vaccinium oxycoccos var. oblongifoliumMichx.
  • Schollera macrocarpos(Aiton) Britton
  • Oxycoca macrocarpa(Aiton) Raf.
  • Oxycoccus macrocarpos(Aiton) Pers.
  • Oxycoccus macrocarpus(Aiton) Pers.
  • Oxycoccus palustris var. macrocarpos(Aiton) Pers.
  • Schollera macrocarpa(Aiton) Steud.
  • Vaccinium propinquumSalisb.

Vaccinium macrocarpon, also called large cranberry, American cranberry and bearberry, is a North American species of cranberry in the subgenus Oxycoccus . [3]

Contents

The name cranberry, comes from shape of the flower stamen, which looks like a crane's beak.

Description

The flowers of Vaccinium macrocarpon Vaccinium macrocarpon by aarongunnar.jpg
The flowers of Vaccinium macrocarpon

Vaccinium macrocarpon is a perennial shrub, often ascending (trailing along the surface of the ground for some distance but then curving upwards). The leaf blades are abaxially glaucous and green adaxially. The leaf blades are narrowly elliptic to elliptic, and in rare cases oblong. The pedicels are nodding and slender, measuring 2-3 cm. It produces white or pink flowers followed by sour-tasting red or pink berries 9–14 mm (0.35–0.55 in) across. [4] [5] [6]

Distribution

Vaccinium macrocarpon is native to central and eastern Canada (Ontario to Newfoundland) and the northeastern and north-central United States (Northeast, Great Lakes Region, and Appalachians as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee). [7] It is also naturalized in parts of Europe and scattered locations in North America along western Canada (British Columbia) and the western United States (West Coast).

Human uses

The species is grown commercially as a cash crop for its edible berries. [8] Many cranberries are grown in wetland soils consisting of alternating layers of organic matter and sand; modern harvesting techniques include temporarily flooding fields, shaking berries loose, and gathering the floating berries. [9] [10] Common uses of the berries includes sauce, jelly, juice, and dried fruit. [11] [12] There is some evidence suggesting that the berries or their juice could be useful in treating or preventing certain urinary tract infections, but this is not certain yet and thus is not substitute for medical management. [13] Some research suggests cranberries may suppress asymptomatic Helicobacter pylori colonization, but they seem to be an inferior treatment compared to antibiotic therapy in symptomatic patients. [14] [15] [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranberry</span> Plant species bearing edible fruit

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species Vaccinium oxycoccos, while in North America, cranberry may refer to Vaccinium macrocarpon. Vaccinium oxycoccos is cultivated in central and northern Europe, while Vaccinium macrocarpon is cultivated throughout the northern United States, Canada and Chile. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right. They can be found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urea breath test</span> Medical test for a bacteria infection

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berry</span> In the culinary sense, small edible fruit

A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the culinary sense are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, red currants, white currants and blackcurrants. In Britain, soft fruit is a horticultural term for such fruits.

<i>Vaccinium</i> Genus of berry-producing shrubs in the heath family

Vaccinium is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whortleberry), lingonberry (cowberry), and huckleberry. Like many other ericaceous plants, they are generally restricted to acidic soils.

<i>Vaccinium vitis-idaea</i> Species of shrub with edible fruit

Vaccinium vitis-idaea, the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Europe and Asia to North America. Lingonberries are picked in the wild and used to accompany various dishes, primarily in the Nordics. Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in the Netherlands.

<i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Species of bacteria

Helicobacter pylori, previously known as Campylobacter pylori, is a gram-negative, flagellated, helical bacterium. Mutants can have a rod or curved rod shape, and are less effective. Its helical body is thought to have evolved in order to penetrate the mucous lining of the stomach, helped by its flagella, and thereby establish infection. The bacterium was first identified as the causal agent of gastric ulcers in 1983 by the Australian doctors Barry Marshall and Robin Warren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redcurrant</span> Species of flowering plant in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae

The redcurrant or red currant is a member of the genus Ribes in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions.

<i>Vaccinium erythrocarpum</i> Species of cranberry

Vaccinium erythrocarpum, commonly known as southern mountain cranberry or bearberry, is a deciduous flowering shrub native to the Southeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranberry juice</span> Liquid juice of the cranberry

Cranberry juice is the liquid juice of the cranberry – a fruit recognized for its bright red color, tart taste, and versatility for product manufacturing. Major cranberry products include cranberry juice, dried cranberry, cranberry sauce, frozen cranberry, cranberry powder, and dietary supplements containing cranberry extracts.

Mossberry is a common name for several plants and may refer to:

<i>Vaccinium myrtillus</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium myrtillus or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortleberry to distinguish it from other Vaccinium relatives.

<i>Vaccinium reticulatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Vaccinium reticulatum, known as ʻōhelo ʻai in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the heather family, Ericaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It grows at altitudes of 640–3,700 m (2,100–12,140 ft) on lava flows and freshly disturbed volcanic ash on Maui and Hawaiʻi, and less commonly on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi. Adaptations to volcanic activity include the ability to survive ash falls of over 25 cm (9.8 in) depth.

Proanthocyanidins are a class of polyphenols found in many plants, such as cranberry, blueberry, and grape seeds. Chemically, they are oligomeric flavonoids. Many are oligomers of catechin and epicatechin and their gallic acid esters. More complex polyphenols, having the same polymeric building block, form the group of tannins.

<i>Vaccinium parvifolium</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium parvifolium, the red huckleberry, is a species of Vaccinium native to western North America.

<i>Vaccinium uliginosum</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium uliginosum is a Eurasian and North American flowering plant in the genus Vaccinium within the heath family.

<i>Vaccinium stamineum</i> Species of flowering plant

Vaccinium stamineum, commonly known as deerberry, tall deerberry, squaw huckleberry, highbush huckleberry, buckberry, and southern gooseberry, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is native to North America, including Ontario, the eastern and central United States, and parts of Mexico. It is most common in the southeastern United States.

<i>Monilinia oxycocci</i> Species of fungus

Monilinia oxycocci (Woronin) Honey,, common names cranberry cottonball, cranberry hard rot, tip blight, is a fungal infection of large cranberry and small cranberry. The tips of young flowering shoots wilt before they flower. Fruit that forms on the plant can then be infected by the asexual spores traveling through the plant, causing the berries to harden, turn cottony on the inside, and dry out instead of maturing. The berries are filled with a cotton-like fungus and are generally yellowish with tan stripes or blotches at maturity, making them unmarketable. It results in important economic impacts on many cranberry marshes, particularly in Wisconsin.

<i>Vaccinium oxycoccos</i> Species of flowering plant

Vaccinium oxycoccos is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry. It is widespread throughout the cool temperate northern hemisphere, including northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ideain</span> Chemical compound

Ideain, the cyanidin 3-O-galactoside, is an anthocyanin, a type of plant pigment.

<i>Vaccinium praestans</i> Species of shrub

Vaccinium praestans, the Kamchatka bilberry, is a perennial shrub in the family Ericaceae, which includes species like cranberries, blueberries, and huckleberries. In Russia this plant is known as the Klopovka, or stink-bug berry, due to its distinct, potent scent, resembling that of a secretion produced by bugs of Heteroptera genus. The plant is native to Kamchatka but can be found in North America to Eastern Asia. Mostly growing in the wild, it is also enjoyed as an ornamental plant, most commonly in Japan, where it is used to decorate home gardens. Like many other species in the family Ericaceae, its berries are edible.

References

  1. Tropicos, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton
  2. The Plant List, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton
  3. Oszmiański, Jan; Kolniak-Ostek, Joanna; Lachowicz, Sabina; Gorzelany, Józef; Matłok, Natalia (2017-11-11). "Phytochemical Compounds and Antioxidant Activity in Different Cultivars of Cranberry (Vaccinium Macrocarpon L)". Journal of Food Science. 82 (11): 2569–2575. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.13924. ISSN   1750-3841. PMID   28973819.
  4. Flora of North America, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton, 1789. Cranberry, canneberge gros fruits
  5. Aiton, William. 1789. Hortus Kewensis, or, A catalogue of the plants cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew 2: 13 and plate 7 description in Latin on page 13; full-page color illustration on plate 7 (between pages 12 and 13)
  6. USDA. "Plant Profile for Vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry)". USDA PLANTS. USDA. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. "Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map". BONAP.net. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. "Vaccinium macrocarpon American Cranberry, Cranberry PFAF Plant Database". www.PFAF.org. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. University of Massachusetts, Natural History of the American Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.
  10. "Cranberries: Life Cycle of a Cranberry". Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  11. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 163. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.
  12. Armstrong, Heather; Armstrong, Charles. "Ways to Use Cranberries". University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  13. Wang C, Fang C, Chen N, et al. Cranberry-Containing Products for Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections in Susceptible Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(13):988–996. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3004
  14. Zhang, L. , Ma, J. , Pan, K. , Go, V. L., Chen, J. and You, W. (2005), Efficacy of Cranberry Juice on Helicobacter pylori Infection: a Double‐Blind, Randomized Placebo‐Controlled Trial. Helicobacter, 10: 139-145. doi:10.1111/j.1523-5378.2005.00301.x
  15. Ora Burger, Itzhak Ofek, Mina Tabak, Ervin I. Weiss, Nathan Sharon, Ishak Neeman, A high molecular mass constituent of cranberry juice inhibits Helicobacter pylori adhesion to human gastric mucus, FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology, Volume 29, Issue 4, December 2000, Pages 295–301, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-695X.2000.tb01537.x
  16. Martin Gotteland, Monica Andrews, Marcela Toledo, Loreto Muñoz, Paola Caceres, Alyerina Anziani, Emma Wittig, Hernan Speisky, Gabriela Salazar,Modulation of Helicobacter pylori colonization with cranberry juice and Lactobacillus johnsonii La1 in children, Nutrition, Volume 24, Issue 5, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2008.01.007.