Cranberry, Vaccinium oxycoccos
Cranberries can be eaten raw or cooked. Considered by some to be the most pleasantly-flavoured of British wild fruits.
The fruit is high in pectin, this means that it can be mixed with fruits that are low in pectin to help them set when making jam.
Pectin has also been shown to have a valuable role in the diet, where it is said to protect the body against radiation.
An acid taste, the fruits are usually cooked in preserves etc. Although smaller than the related V. macrocarpon, the fruit of this species is considered to be of superior taste.
The fruit is about 6mm in diameter.
A tea is made from the leaves.
An infusion of the plant has been used to treat cases of slight nausea.
The juice of the fruit is used to clean silver.
A red dye is obtained from the fruit.
Plants can be grown as a ground cover when planted about 1 metre apart each way. Plants rapidly form a dense carpet when they are thriving.
They like damp ground.