858 



ERICACEAE. LIII. OXYCOCCUS. LIV. GAYLUSSACIA. 



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. PALU'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. Tj . 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. O. vulgaris, Pursh. fl. amer. sept. 1. p. 263. O. 

 Europae'us, Nutt. gen. amer. 1. p. 251. Vaccinium Oxycoccus, 

 Lin. spec. 500. Smith, engl. bot. t. 319. Oed. fl. dan. t. 80. 

 Vaccinium Oxycoccus, var. a, ovalifolius, Michx. fl. bor. 

 amer. 1. p. 228. Vaccinia palustris, Ger. emac. 1419. Lob. 

 icon. 2. t. 109. Oxycoccum, 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. Lihtfoot records, that at Longtown, on the bor- 

 ders of Cumberland, not less than 201. 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. 



Marsh or Common Cranberry. Fl. May, June. Britain. 

 Shrub creeping. 



2 O. MACROCA'RPUS (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. T? 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 macrocarpum, 

 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 oxycoccus ft, oblongifblius, 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 

 preceding they are situated at the lower part. The berries are 

 larger, and of a brighter red than the last, and are collected in 



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 3 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-Jruiled 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, tj . 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. Shrub 2 feet. 



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 0. macrocdrpus. 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 Linnaea. 1. p. 528. 

 Lussacia, Spreng. Thibaudia species, Humb. 



LIN. SYST. Pentdndria, 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 

 2'hibaudia, but very distinct. 



* Corollas urceolate, or cylindrical. 

 1 G. BUXIFOLIA (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. p. 276. 



