SMALL CRANBERRY 



Oxy coccus palustris Persoon 



The small cranberry is 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 ranges 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 Jersey, 

 Michigan, and the State of Washington. The cranberries belong to 

 the Blueberry Family. By many botanists they are referred to the genus 

 Vacciniumj 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 



