SMALL CRANBERRY 
Oxycoccus palustris Persoon 
The small cranberry 1s a typical boreal plant, and no doubt survived 
the glacial period close to the margin of the ice sheet, or on mountain 
summits which projected above the ice. Upon the retreat of the glaciers 
the plant migrated from its places of refuge into the many bogs formed 
by the damming of rivulets. It now tanges throughout the glaciated 
territory of the Northern Hemisphere, extending well into the Arctic 
region. In North America it is found as far south as New Jetsey, 
Michigan, and the State of Washington. The cranberries belong to 
the Blueberry Family. By many botanists they are referred to the genus 
Vaccemum, which contains the blueberries and whortleberries. 
The specimen sketched grew at Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, near 
the point where Lake Louise Creek flows out of the lake, at an 
altitude of 5,000 feet. 
PLATE 180 
