Cranberry, fruit of any of several small creeping or trailing plants of the genus Vaccinium (family Ericaceae), related to the blueberries. The small-fruited, or northern, cranberry (V. oxycoccus) is found in marshy land in northern North America and Asia and in Northern and Central Europe. Its stems are wiry and creeping; the leaves are evergreen, oval or elliptical, and less than 1.2 cm (0.5 inch) long. Its small flowers appear in June and have a four-lobed, rose-tinted corolla. Its round, crimson berries, which ripen in September, are about the size of currants and are often spotted; they have an acid taste.

The American Cranberry (V. macrocarpon) is found wild in the greater part of the Northeastern United States. It is more robust than is V. oxycoccus, with larger, round, oblong, or pear-shaped berries that vary in colour from pink to very dark red or mottled red and white. It is cultivated on acid soils of peat or vegetable mold with a surface layer of sand. Additional sand is applied every few years. The American cranberry is grown extensively in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin and near the Pacific coast in Washington and Oregon. Early Black and Howes are the principal varieties in the east, McFarlin and Searls in Wisconsin, and McFarlin in the far west. Three recently developed varieties are Beckwith, Stevens, and Wilcox.Berry picking begins in early September and continues until late October.  Canberries are traditionally associated with American and Canadian Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Cranberry juices are now gaining increased popularity in Europe due to health benefits