XXII. THE WHORTLEBERRY FAMILY. 397 
FAMILY XXI. THE WHORTLEBERRY FAMILY. VACCINIEZ. 
De Canpoxue. 
The whortleberries and cranberries take the place, through- 
out the northern part of this continent, of the heaths of the cor- 
responding climates of Europe; and fill it with not less of 
beauty, and incomparably more of use. This family includes 
erect or creeping shrubs, with numerous, irregular branches, 
simple, alternate leaves, on short stalks, sometimes coriaceous 
and perennial, and flowers solitary or in racemes. The charac- 
teristics are nearly those of the previous family; calyx adherent 
to the ovary, entire, or with from four to six lobes, with which 
the equally numerous lobes of the corolla alternate; the stamens 
double that number and distinct, with two-horned anthers open- 
ing by pores, or short slits; ovary four- or five-celled; style 
and stigma simple; berry crowned by the persistent limb of the 
calyx, succulent, four- or five-, or eight- or ten-celled; cells one- 
or many-seeded; seeds minute. 
This family has usually been made a tribe of the Heath 
Family, from which it differs essentially only in its juicy fruit 
surmounted by the calyx-segments. Most of the plants which 
it comprehends bear pleasant and wholesome fruits, and are 
found chiefly in the temperate, or on mountains in the warmer 
regions of America. Some are found in Europe; some on the 
continent and islands of Asia, and on islands in the Atlantic, 
Pacific and Indian Oceans. ‘I'he leaves and bark have astrin- 
gent and tonic properties. Many species deserve cultivation for 
their beauty. 
Three genera are found in Massachusetts :— 
The Whortleberry, with erect stems, ovoid corollas, and 
agreeably acidulous fruit; 
The Cranberry, with creeping stems, expanded or revolute 
corolla, and acid fruit; and 
The Chidgenes, with creeping stems, bell-shaped corolla, and 
white, pleasant fruit with a chequer-berry flavor. 
