American Cranberry

A beloved evergreen of sandy areas, acid soils, and swamps. Flowers are small but showy, somewhat resembling the flowers of Eastern Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia) and white-pink, appearing in May-June before turning to the delicious, showy edible fruit this species is famous for. Leaves are glossy and small with rounded edges, and will occasionally turn an attractive red color and often bronze in spring, but otherwise remain green throughout the year and create a dense mat-like or mounding groundcover, with a tendency to sprawl and spread. Tolerates wet conditions, occasional flooding, sphagnum, and poor and acid soil, but does not tolerate heat and drought very well. The fruit of course provides food for a wide variety of wildlife (as well as humans; this species is grown as a commercial food crop!) but this species is also a host plant for the Bog Fritillary Butterfly (Boloria eunomia) and the flowers attract a number of pollinators and are of special value to native bees, of which it supports a number of specialist species.

3-8 inch tall
Plant Hardiness Zones: 2b-7b
Perennial

Native Range: ME south to NC, west to TN, IL, north to MN. Considered rare in DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, TN, IN, and IL. Native to Canada in ON, QC, NL, NB, PE, NS.

American Cranberry in a 3.5 inch pot $17.75

American Cranberry in a quart pot $18.75

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