[Sca-cooks] cranberries

[Mark Hendershott]

Is Vaccinium oxycoccus also known as lingonberry?

Simon Sinneghe
Briaroak, Summits, An Tir


At 01:06 PM 10/9/2009, you wrote:
>Cranberries, Vaccinium marcocarpum, are North American.  Vaccinium 
>oxycoccus is a similar smaller reddish fruit found in the Arctic and 
>cooler northern regions including Europe and are commonly called 
>small cranberries or European cranberries.  Bilberries (blueberries) 
>are also members of genus Vaccinium and are related.  Barberries are 
>members of genus Berberis and to my knowledge are not related.
>
>I'm not near my OED, but you might want to check out the derivation 
>and temporal usage of cranberry which comes from the German.
>
>According to some limited soure material, New World cranberries were 
>known in period, but may or may not have been eaten in Europe at 
>that time. Commercial production didn't begin until the late 19th Century.
>
>If V. oxycoccus were eaten in period (which is likely), it use was 
>probably limited to extreme Northern Europe.  I haven't located much 
>on it's native range, but I suspect it may be one of the berries 
>that grow in tundra bogs.
>
>Bear
>
>>where cranberries known in period Europe?
>>
>>Theadora