Vaccinium oxycoccos Linnaeus. Common name: Small Cranberry. Phenology: Jun; Sep-Oct. Habitat: Bogs. Distribution: Circumboreal, south in North America to NJ, PA, WV (Grant, Mineral, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, and Tucker counties), IN, and MN. Fernald (1950) reported V. oxycoccos var. ovalifolium Michaux as occurring south to "mts. of N.C." and V. oxycoccos var .oxycoccos as south to "upland of Va. and W.Va.". Scoggan (1979) and Kartesz (1999) repeated the report of Vaccinium oxycoccos as reaching NC; Scoggan’s report is of Oxycoccus ovalifolius (Michaux) Porsild. Most likely, ambiguous collections of V. macrocarpon are the basis for these reports.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: I here follow Smith et al. (2015) in distinguishing tetraploid V. oxycoccos s.s. from the more strictly boreal/arctic diploid V. microcarpum, which apparently occurs only far north of our area.

Synonymy ⓘ: = Mi, NE, NY, Smith et al (2015); = Oxycoccus ovalifolius (Michx.) Porsild; = Oxycoccus palustris Pers. var. ovalifolius (Michx.) W.R.Seymour; > Oxycoccus microcarpon Turczaninov — Il; < Oxycoccus palustris Pers.; < Vaccinium oxycoccos L. — C, Can, FNA8, G, K4, Pa; >< Vaccinium oxycoccos L. var. ovalifolium Michx. — F; >< Vaccinium oxycoccos L. var. oxycoccos — F, misapplied. Basionym: Vaccinium oxycoccos L. 1753

Links to other floras: < Vaccinium oxycoccos - FNA8

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: OBL
• Great Plains: OBL
• Midwest: OBL
• Northcentral & Northeast: OBL

Heliophily ⓘ: 8