MOUNTAIN CRANBERRY 
Vaccinium vitisidaca minus Loddiges 
There is a striking contrast between the deep green of mountain 
cranberry leaves and the dainty bunches of white bells at the tips of 
the woody stems. The sweet-scented flowers are frequently tinged 
with pink. The plant, like other members of the Blueberry Family, 
delights in acid soil. 
Mountain cranberry grows neatly throughout the colder parts of 
North America, occurring rarely in New England and. southern 
Canada, but becoming a common plant in high mountain and Arctic 
lowland tegions. It presumably survived the glacial period on some 
of the non-glaciated islands, and when the ice retreated it rapidly 
occupied the devastated territory, its seeds being widely dispersed by 
birds. [he typical form of the species 1s similarly distributed in Europe 
and Asia. | 
The specimen sketched was obtained on the shores of Lake Louise, 
Alberta, Canada, at an altitude of 5,500 feet. 
PLATE 193 
