BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Vaccinium oxycoccos | Bog Cranberry 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Bog cranberry is a very small, prostrate, evergreen shrub.  The slender
stems are vinelike, and root at the nodes.  The lance-shaped leaves are
leathery and have revolute margins.  Pink to red flowers are borne
singly or in clusters at the ends of stems.  The fruit is a red, juicy
berry [1,21,50].  Underground perennating structures are generally well
below the soil surface [12].  Mycorrhizal associations exist on
unsuberized portions of the roots and allow for improved plant nutrient
levels and growth rates in the acid or peat soil in which bog cranberry
is found [49].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte
   Cryptophyte (geophyte)


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Vegetative regeneration is the most important mode of reproduction of
bog cranberry.  It can also establish by seed; seedlings, however, are
rare [6].

Bog cranberry is self-pollinating, but pollination by insects
(especially bees) increases seed production [34].  Cranberry (Vaccinium
spp. sec. Oxycoccos) seeds do not germinate immediately after berries
become ripe, but dormancy can be overcome by afterripening.  Storage of
seeds at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 deg C) for 6 to 7 months allows for
germination of seeds at 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 deg C) [40].

Seeds are dispersed by birds and animals that eat bog cranberry fruits
[49].

Bog cranberry regenerates vegetatively by sprouting from rhizomes and by
layering [1,2,13,50].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Bog cranberry is found in ombrotrophic sphagnum bogs and minerotrophic
fens in moist coastal and boreal forests [4,17,18,50].  Bog cranberry
grows on peat in these poorly drained, subhygric to hygric sites that
have a very high water table [7,27,32,38].  The ground may be saturated
for most or part of the year.  The bog sites derive water from
precipitation only and are generally nutrient-poor and low in
productivity.  The soil is very acidic and pH ranges from about 2.9 to
4.7 [7,17,32].  Since fen water is derived from ground water as well as
precipitation, the fen sites are more ion-rich, and therefore, more
alkaline.  The soil pH ranges from about 6.0 to 7.5 [4,17,43].  These
sites are generally not as nutrient-poor since the environment is more
favorable for decomposer species [4].  Bogs are generally level but are
often patterned by scattered mounds of sphagnum moss.  Bog cranberry
often grows on these hummocks.  Bog cranberry is found in cool-temperate
to cool-mesothermal climates [25].
  
Associated tree species include:  eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis),
western hemlock (T. heterophylla), northern white cedar (Thuja
occidentalis), western redcedar (T. plicata), Alaska cedar
(Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), Altantic white cedar (C. thyoides),
quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (P. balsamifera),
swamp birch (Betula pumila), bog birch (B. glandulosa), paper birch (B.
papyrifera), yellow birch (B. alleghaniensis), and black ash (Fraxinus
nigra).

Associated understory species include:  leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne
calyculata), bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla), bog laurel (Kalmia
polifolia), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), Labrador tea (Ledum
groenlandicum), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), rhodora (Rhododendron
canadense), glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), sundew (Drosera spp.),
cottonsedge (Eriophorum virginatum and E. angustifolium), and various
sedges (Carex spp.), lichens (Cladina and Cladonia spp.), and sphagnum
mosses.


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Bog cranberry can be an early colonizer in secondary succession but is
generally associated with mid-seral stages of primary succession.  It is
one of the first colonizers of burned bogs and increases in abundance
with repeated fires [12].  In bog development however, bog cranberry
becomes more abundant after an initial sedge mat has formed.  It is most
important in the sphagnum community stage, which consists mainly of
sphagnum mosses and ericaceous shrubs [6,16,45].  Bog cranberry is shade
intolerant [25], and is generally only present as a relic in climax bogs
that have developed a conifer overstory [16].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Bog cranberry flowers emerge from June to July.  Fruits ripen from
August to October [44,50].  The berries often persist through the winter
[48].

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium oxycoccos | Bog Cranberry