Oxycoccus
(from oxys, sharp, and kokkos, a berry; referring to the sharp, acid taste of the berries). Cranberry. SYN. Schollera. ORD. Vacciniaceae. A genus comprising only a couple of species of small, hardy decumbent or sub-erect, very glabrous shrubs, natives of Europe, North Asia, and North America. Flowers axillary or terminal, solitary or few, nodding or drooping; corolla pink, with four or five linear, revolute segments. Berry globose, fleshy, many-seeded. Leaves small, alternate, persistent, entire. Branches filiform. Both these plants naturally affect swampy spots, and the first-named is planted nearly always with a view to the periodic flooding of the beds; it will, however, thrive in a peaty border where no great amount of moisture is present, but under such conditions will not, of course, develop so quickly. O. palustris is a neat little plant, worth growing in pots or pans standing in water. The species may be propagated by means of the long, creeping shoots, which frequently root; or by cuttings, inserted under a hand glass, and shaded until established.
O. macrocarpus (large-fruited).* American Cranberry. fl. pink, on erect, proliferous branches. Spring. l. elliptic-oblong, nearly flat and obtuse, glaucous beneath. Stems prostrate, filiform, creeping. North America, 1760. This species is largely cultivated in North America for the sake of its fruits, which are bottled or put into barrels, &c., as well as used fresh for tarts, &c. (B. M. 2586, under name of Vaccinium macrocarpum.) O. palustris (marsh-loving).* Common Cranberry. fl. pink, with reflexed, oblong segments; pedicels terminal, one-flowered. May. fr. dark red, with a strong acid taste. l. small, ovate, entire, acute, smooth, with revolute margins. Stems filiform, creeping. Northern hemisphere (Britain). (Sy. En. B. 876, under name of Vaccinium Oxycoccus.)