ABSTRACT
The American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton (2n = 2x = 24), is native to North America. A member of the Ericaceae (Heath) Family, within the subsection Oxycoccus, cranberry is adapted to moist, acidic soils, peat bogs, marshes, and swamps with a temperate climate. The natural distribution ranges from Newfoundland west through the Great Lakes region to western Ontario and Minnesota, and south at higher elevations in the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee (Vander Kloet 1988; Fig. 2.1). As a commercial crop it has been introduced to a wider range and can be found between longitudes 70 W and 80 W and latitudes 40 N and 50 N as well as in introductions to Britain, western Canada, and western United States. It is also cultivated in eastern Europe in Latvia, Estonia, and Belarus and in South America in Chile.
