858 
Nutt. gen. amer. 1. p. 250.—Vaccinium species of Lin. and 
others. 
Lin. syst. Octdndria, Monogynia. Calyx 4-toothed. Co- 
rolla 4-parted, with nearly linear revolute segments. Sta- 
mens 8, with connivent filaments; anthers tubular, 2-parted. 
Berries many-seeded.—Small, prostrate, creeping, evergreen 
shrubs, with small leaves, growing in sphagnose morasses. 
Branches filiform, proliferous. Flowers produced at the base 
of the spring branchlets, in short gemmaceous racemes; pedi- 
cels filiform, conspicuously bibracteate. Berries red, rarely 
white, acid. 
1 O. patvu’stris (Pers. ench. 1. p. 419.) stems filiform, 
creeping; leaves small, ovate, entire, acute, smooth, with 
revolute margins ; pedicels terminal, 1-flowered; segments of 
corolla oval. h. B. H. Native of turfy mossy bogs in 
the mountainous parts of Europe; common in Switzerland, 
Russia, Scotland, Ireland, and the north of England, as well 
as in Lincolnshire and the neighbouring part of Norfolk. Mr. 
Pursh speaks of it as common on the boggy mountains of 
North America, from Canada to Pennsylvania, Island of Una- 
laschka. ©. vulgaris, Pursh. fl. amer. sept. 1. p. 263. O. 
Europee'us, Nutt. gen. amer. 1. p. 251. Vaccinium Oxycéccus, 
Lin. spec. 500. Smith, engl. bot. t. 319. Oed. fl. dan. t. 80. 
Vaccinium Oxycdéccus, var. a, ovalifdlius, Michx. fi. bor. 
amer. 1. p. 228. Vaccinia palustris, Ger. emac. 1419. Lob. 
icon. 2. t. 109. Oxycéccum, Cord. hist. 140. 2 f. 1. Leaves 
convex, and dark shining green above, and glaucous beneath. 
Stems reddish. Pedicels few together, about the tops of the 
branches, red, slightly hoary. Corolla pink, with reflexed ob- 
long segments. Stamens with purple downy filaments and yel- 
low anthers. Berries pear-shaped, globular, often spotted, 
crimson, of a peculiar flavour, with a strong acidity, grateful to 
most people in the form of tarts, for which purpose they are 
largely imported from Russia. Not long since, cranberries 
from Lincolnshire and the north-west corner of Norfolk were 
sold in the streets of Norwich by cart-loads; but the extensive 
inclosures have in many parts destroyed and drained their 
native bogs. Lightfoot records, that at Longtown, on the bor- 
ders of Cumberland, not less than 20/. or 30/. worth were sold 
each market day, for 5 or six weeks together, and dispersed 
over different parts of the kingdom. In Sweden, these berries 
serve only to boil silver plate to its due degree of whiteness, 
their sharp acid corroding the superficial particles of the copper 
alloy. 
Mearik or Common Cranberry. Fl. May, June. 
Shrub creeping. : 
2 O. macroca’Rrus (Pursh. fl. amer. sept. 1. p. 263.) stems 
prostrate, filiform, creeping ; leaves elliptic-oblong, nearly flat 
and obtuse, distantly subserrulated on the margins, glaucous 
beneath, downy at the points when young: segments of the co- 
rolla linear-lanceolate; flower-bearing branches erect, proli- 
ferous ; pedicels lateral. k.B.H. Native from Canada to Vir- 
ginia, in bogs, principally on a sandy soil, and on high moun- 
tains. Wats. dendr. brit. t. 122. Vaccinium macrocaérpum, 
Ait. hort. kew. ed. 1. vol.2.13.t.7. Hook. bot.mag. 2506. Lam. 
ill. t. 286. f. 4. Vaccinium hispidulum, Wangh. amer. t. 30. 
f. 67. Vaccinium oxycéccus (, oblongifolius, Michx. fl. 
amer. bor. 1. p. 228. Points of young leaves, peduncles, and 
the margins of the calyx and bracteas downy. Berries spheri- 
cal, red, often remaining throughout the winter. This is a 
larger and more robust plant than the preceding. Several 
flowers come forth at the ends of the last year’s branches, sur- 
mounted by the shoots of the present year. The bracteas are 
situated in the upper part of the pedicels in this, while in the 
usage they are situated at the lower part. The berries are 
arger, and of a brighter red than the last, and are collected in 
Britain. 
ERICACE. LIII. Oxycoccus. 
LIV. QGAYLUSSACIA. 
great abundance for making tarts in America, and exported from 
thence to Europe ; but they always prove here far inferior in 
quality to the Russian cranberries, however excellent in Ame- 
rica. The best way of having American cranberries in Europe 
is by cultivation in an artificial bog, with great plenty of water, 
as first contrived by Sir Joseph Banks. A very few square 
yards of ground thus employed will yield as many cranberries 
as any family can use. If allowed to hang until they are full 
ripe, as late as October, they are even better than the common 
cranberry, and may be kept dry in bottles throughout the year. 
Our wild cranberries have generally been gathered too early; 
as may also be the case with those brought from America. 
“ Wherever there is a pond,” Mr. Neill observes, “the margin 
may, at a trifling expence, be fitted up for the culture of this 
plant, and it will continue productive for many years. All that 
is necessary is to drive in a few stakes 2 or 8 feet within the 
margin of the pond, and to place some old boards within these, 
so as to prevent the soil of the cranberry-bed from falling into 
the water; and lay a parcel of small stones or rubbish in the 
bottom, and over it peat or bog earth, to the depth of about 3 
inches above and 7 inches below the surface of the water. In 
such a situation the plants grow readily; and if a few be put in 
they entirely cover the bed in the course of a year or two, by 
means of their long runners, which take root at different points. 
From a very small space a large quantity of cranberries may be 
gathered ; and they prove a remarkable regular crop, scarcely 
affected by the state of the weather, and not subject to the 
. attack of insects. 
Large-fruited or American Cranberry. Fl. May, July. Clt. 
1760. Shrub creeping. 
3 O. ere'ctus (Pursh. fl. amer. sept. 1. p. 264.) leaves oval, 
acuminated, serrulated and ciliated; pedicels axillary; corolla 
before expansion long and conical, at length revolute; stem 
erect. k.H. Native of Virginia and Carolina, on the high 
mountains. Wats. dendr. brit. t. 31. Vaccinium erythro- 
carpum, Michx. fl. amer. bor. 1. p. 227. Branches flexuous. 
Leaves membranous, somewhat hairy. Flowers red. Berries 
scarlet, (black, ex Wats,) and quite transparent, of an exquisite 
taste. Very different in habit from the other species. 
Erect Cranberry. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1806. 
Cult. When any of the species are grown for the sake of 
their berries, they should be planted in an artificial bog, as men- 
tioned under O. macrocdérpus. But when grown only for hav- 
ing a specimen of the plants, they will grow well in pots filled 
with peat and sand, having sphagnum set round their roots: 
the pots should be well drained with sherds, and set in deep 
pans of water. 
LIV. GAYLUSSA'CIA (named after L. Gay-Lussac, a 
celebrated French physician, and member of the Academy of 
Sciences, Paris). Humb. Bonpl. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. 
p. 275. t. 257. Cham. et Schlecht. in Linnea. 1. p. 528. 
Lussacia, Spreng.—Thibatidia species, Humb. 
Lin. syst. Pentándria, Monogynia. Limb of calyx 5-cleft. 
Corolla tubular, ventricose at the base; limb 5-toothed. Sta- 
mens 10, inserted in the limb of the calyx, inclosed ; anthers 
mutic, drawn out from the top into 2 little tubes. Style erect ; 
stigma depressedly capitate. Drupe nearly globose, clothed by 
the calyx, 10-celled ; cells 1-seeded. Seeds lenticular, smooth. 
—Evergreen or deciduous shrubs. Leaves scattered, coriaceous, 
each terminated by a mucrone or gland. Racemes axillary, 
approximate. Flowers scarlet, bracteate. Very nearly allied to 
Thibatdia, but very distinct. 
* Corollas urceolate, or cylindrical. 
1 G. suxirouia (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. p. 276. 
Shrub 2 feet. , 
ia 
