THE CRANBERRY FAMILY 
[ORDER XLIII. VACCINIACE.®] 
T HIS is a small order which is frequently united with the Heath Family (Ericaceae), but 
which differs from it in one essential — the calyx-tube being united with the seedcase, while 
the withered calyx-teeth crown the fruit instead of the calyx being entirely free from the seedcase 
and persisting at the base of the fruit as in the Heath tribe. Members of this family are to 
be found in all quarters of the globe ; those in the British Isles are all dwarf shrubs, but in 
other countries there are tall trees. The species found in the British Isles, and in fact in all 
temperate zones, thrive in peat-bogs and in the decaying vegetable matter of woods and heaths, 
and frequently have what is botanically called “ a social habit,” meaning that many plants of the 
same species grow together and often cover considerable areas of ground. They are to be found 
as far north as Greenland, where the Bog Whortleberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) is abundant, 
while other species grow on mountains in the tropics. 
A few species are cultivated for their beauty, but their chief value lies in their pleasant 
edible fruits. Besides those grown in the British Isles, we receive quantities of Bilberries 
from different countries in Europe and Cranberries from Russia and Chicago. 
I. Vaccin'ium. Corolla bell- or urn-shaped, with 4 or 5 segments. 
II. Cranberry (Schol'lera). Corolla flat and spreading, deeply divided into 4 reflexed 
segments, with a very short tube. 
I. VACCIN'IUM. Linn. — Flowers small, white or pink, in the British species, solitary in the 
axils of the leaves or in compact terminal clusters. Calyx of 4-5 sepals, united into a tube 
which combines with the seedcase, and separating at the top into 4-5 teeth, which are sometimes 
so small as to be hardly visible ; corolla of 4-5 united petals, bell- or urn-shaped, with 4-5 
small lobes at the top, inserted at the top of the calyx-tube (epigynous); stamens 8-10, the 
anthers 2-celled, sometimes with 2 horns on the back ; each cell is prolonged at the top into a 
tube which opens at the apex by a pore to discharge its pollen ; carpels 2-5, united into a 
2-5-celled seedcase, a style, and clustered stigma. Fruit a fleshy, juicy berry, crowned with the 
calyx-teeth, 2-5-celled, with several developed or undeveloped seeds in each cell. Shrubs with 
alternate leaves. 
(1) Cowberry. (Vaccin'ium Vitis-Idaea.) — Flowers bell-shaped, several together in terminal 
drooping clusters ; anthers not horned on the back ; leaves evergreen ; berries red. 
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