VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Vaccinium vitis-idaea | Mountain Cranberry 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Browse: Mountain cranberry browse is readily eaten by barren-ground
caribou, black bear, moose, arctic hare, and snowshoe hare [38,42].  In
parts of Alaska, it is an important if not key moose browse [3].
Utilization by moose is typically heaviest when available browse is
limited and when light snow accumulations allow the animals to reach the
plants easily [93].  On the Kenai Peninsula, it may comprise up to 25
percent of winter moose diets.  Moose may dig through 20 inches (50 cm)
of snow to feed on the foliage, but if winter snow depths are excessive,
the animals rarely expend the energy necessary to reach the plants [77].
Generally, moose eat only trace amounts of mountain cranberry during the
summer [10,77].

In some parts of Canada, mountain cranberry browse is a primary food of
barren-ground caribou [73].  The evergreen leaves are an important item
in the winter diet [38].  In the Mackenzie District of northwestern
Saskatchewan, leaves of mountain cranberry and bog blueberry (V.
uliginosum) accounted for 21.5 percent of the barren-ground caribou
winter diet but only 3.8 percent of the summer diet [38].  However, in
some areas, caribou continue to feed heavily on mountain cranberry
browse throughout the summer [111].

In Newfoundland, snowshoe hares often consume large amounts of shoots
during the winter [38].  Where snow depths prohibit winter use, hares
may feed on leaves made available by melting snows.  Seasonal percent
composition of leaves of mountain cranberry and bog blueberry in the
diet of snowshoe hares in Newfoundland was as follows [118]:

             winter     April     May     summer     fall
              0.3       17.4      9.3      6.6       10.9  

Mountain cranberry browse is of little value to domestic livestock but
provides some winter browse for reindeer [23,73].  It is not eaten by
domestic sheep if more preferred forage is available [88].

Fruit:  Berries of mountain cranberry are an important food source for
many species of birds and mammals.  Many wildlife species feed on fruit
left on the ground from the previous year [38,55].  Berries are an
important spruce grouse food during spring, summer, and fall.  Berries
persisting from the previous year are eaten from late spring through
early August.  In interior Alaska, percent volume use of mountain
cranberry by spruce grouse was 37.6 in July and August, 40.1 in
September, and 17.3 in September [29].

In many areas, berries are an essential food source for birds migrating
northward in the spring [38,55].  The common raven, ring-necked
pheasant, rock ptarmigan, sea gulls, geese, grouse, partridges, and many
species of songbirds, such as the scarlet tanager, eastern bluebird, and
thrushes, readily consume mountain cranberry fruit [38,42,88].  Fruit of
Vacciniums are readily eaten by the northern mockingbird, rufous-sided
towhee, gray catbird, American robin, brown thrasher, ruffed grouse,
spruce grouse, whimbrel, herring gull, and Canada goose [72,105,106].

The red-backed vole eats large quantities of mountain cranberry fruit
during the fall.  Berries are a primary winter food source as well; the
rodents burrow under snow to reach the persistent fruit [117].  The red
fox also consumes large amounts of fruit during late fall [38].
Mountain cranberry fruit is an important black bear food in many areas
but is of particular importance in Alaska [40].  Berries remain on the
plant over winter, and black bears begin feeding on berries during the
early spring as soon as the snow has melted [38,40].  Fruit again
assumes importance in black bear diets during the fall [40].  Many other
mammals, including the polar bear, eastern chipmunk, and white-footed
mouse, also feed on the fruit of mountain cranberry [38,55].  Fruits of
many Vacciniums are readily eaten by species such as the red squirrel,
gray fox, skunks, and chipmunks [72,106].


PALATABILITY : 
Mountain cranberry browse is at least seasonally palatable to many
species of mammals including the barren-ground caribou, snowshoe and
arctic hares, and moose.  Berries are readily eaten by a variety of
birds and mammals.  Palatability of the fruit increases over winter
[99].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Browse:  Nutrient content of browse varies according to factors such as
soils, phenological development, and proximity to smelters [42,45,95].
Calcium, manganese, aluminum, silver, lead, and boron tend to accumulate
in plant tissue even at low soil levels [42].  Food value peaks in
summer [38].  In winter, acid-detergent, fiber, and lignin content
increase but levels of magnesium, zinc, manganese, calcium, potassium,
sodium, copper, and iron decline.  Protein content remains relatively
constant throughout the year at 5 to 6 percent [77].  Energy content has
been estimated at 509 kcal/100 g [73].  Nutritional value of browse from
the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska was documented as follows [77]:
                        August          February
Protein (%)               5.7              5.4  
Ca (ppm)                4920.0            26.7
Mg (ppm)                1328.0             4.6
K (ppm)                  438.3            29.8
Na (ppm)                  55.0            22.8    
Cu (ppm)                   5.8             0.2
Fe (ppm)                  51.3             3.2 
Mg (ppm)                  17.6             1.9
Zn (ppm)                   8.3             0.3

Fruit:  Berries are high in tannins and anthocyanins.  The caloric
content is moderate [38].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Potential rehabilitation value of mountain cranberry has not been well
documented.  Plants are able to survive on extremely harsh sites, and
some rehabilitation potential is possible.  On the Arctic Coastal Plain,
sprouts have been observed on and under debris left from oil exploration
activities [28].

Mountain cranberry can be readily propagated from seed and stem or
rhizome cuttings [32,42].  Meristem propagation techniques have also
been described [101].  Stem cuttings root easily if planted in the
spring or early fall but exhibit slow rhizome development and poor
subsequent vegetative spread [32].  Clumps of wild mountain cranberry
can be divided and transplanted onto disturbed sites [42].  Survival of
these transplants is variable, ranging from 30 to 90 percent [32].
Propagation techniques have been examined in detail [25,32,42,61,63].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Mountain cranberry fruit can be eaten raw or cooked to make a tart sauce
[6,99].  Berries are used to make preserves, jam, jelly, candy, syrup,
pickles, juice beverages, and wine [42,47].  Fruit can be added to rose
hips to make a tasty jelly [38], or added to various ice cream products
[42].  In some areas, berry-picking is an important recreational
activity [59].  Fruit is widely processed and marketed in Japan and
Europe [42] and is harvested commercially in parts of Alaska,
Scandinavia, the U.S.S.R., and Canada [42,43].  Considerable amounts of
fruit are imported into the United States annually [11].  Much of this
imported fruit is consumed by peoples of Scandinavian descent who use
the so-called "Swedish lingenberry" in traditional dishes [6].  Mountain
cranberry has the potential for more extensive commercial development
[15,37,74].  Some native stands could be managed with a minimum of
cultivation, as are those of low sweet blueberry [see VACANG] [74].  The
feasibility of expanded commercial operations is currently being tested
in parts of North America [42].

Many Native Americans and indigenous peoples of Eurasia used the leaves
and fruit of mountain cranberry as food or medicine [57,106].
Preparations made from the leaves were used to treat bladder problems,
gout, and rheumatism [90].  Medicinal fruit jellies were used to treat
sore throats and colds [106].  The Slave, Athabaska, Cree, and Inuit
people ate the fruit fresh and preserved them for winter use [38,106].
Berries were often boiled and mixed with oil to facilitate storage for
long periods [106].

Arbutin, which is obtained from the leaves and stems, is used by the
pharmaceutical industry in preparations used to treat intestinal
disorders.  Mountain cranberry forms a dense, attractive mat and has
been planted as an ornamental ground cover [24].  It was first
cultivated in 1789 [42].  Mountain cranberry has shown promise for use
in developing hardy fruit-producing cultivars [64].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Fruit production:  Fruit production in mountain cranberry varies widely
according to geographic location, site factors such as shade and soil,
annual weather conditions, and the genetic make-up of the individual
clone [62,63,71,78,81].  Poor fruit production may be due to a lack of
pollinators, cold damp weather during flowering, late spring frosts, or
hail [42,43,57].  Plants growing in the shade rarely produce fruit or
flowers, but plants growing in full sun commonly bear an abundance of
fruit [62].  Some geographic variation in this pattern has been noted.
On dry sunny sites in Alberta, flower bud production may be greatest in
partial shade of aspen (Populus tremuloides) [38].  In the cool, rainy
climates of the Maritime Provinces, flower bud production is typically
best on exposed sites [38].  Kuchko [57] reported poor yields beneath
forest canopy, although yields were often good in adjacent gaps created
by timber harvest.

Fruit yields are generally greater on peat than on mineral soil [63].
Under experimental conditions, plants produced 82 kg/100 m sq on peat
but produced only 14 kg/100 m sq on mineral soil [63].  Temperatures of
30 degrees F (-1.5 degrees C) can kill 50 percent of all flowers, and
exposure to 26 degrees F (-3.5 degrees C) can destroy 50 percent of the
buds and unripe fruit [62].  In harsh arctic environments, only plants
in protected areas, such as on south-facing rock crevices, flower [42].

Maximum yields in cultivated stands may reach 9,140 pounds per acre
(8,150 kg/ha) [38].  Elsewhere, yields may range from 19.5 pounds per
acre (17.4 kg/ha) [51] in Swedish peatlands to 560 pounds per acre (500
kg/ha) in some Finnish forests [38].  Yields are generally highest where
mountain cranberry cover is greatest and competitors are few [71].
Details on fruit yields are available [32,57,81].

Cultivation:  Mountain cranberry generally responds more favorably to
fertilizer and irrigation than do other members of the genus [56].
However, the application of fertilizer does not always increase fruit
yields.  Comparatively little fertilizer is required for good growth and
development [42]; if too much is added, vegetative growth may be
promoted at the expense of fruit production [101].  Where weeds are a
problem, fertilizer may increase competitors at the expense of mountain
cranberry [62].  Mulches such as milled peat can increase fruit
production in some instances [42].  The effects of mulch, fertilizers,
and irrigation have been examined in detail [32,42,46,53,62,63].

Fruit yields may be increased by various means.  Herbicides have been
used to reduce weeds in commercially managed fields of mountain
cranberry [37,63].  Honeybees can be used to supplement native bee
populations when pollinator availability is low [74].  Fruit is
generally harvested by hand [42].  Small comb-sieves or rakes are
commonly used [38,101].

Chemical response:  Mountain cranberry is susceptible to herbicides such
as 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T [38].  These herbicides cause browning of stems and
leaves and at high concentrations can kill the plants [38].  The effect
of herbicides has been documented [8,38].

Damage/disease:  Plants can be killed by exposure to cold temperatures
in the absence of a protective snow cover [83].  Unacclimated plants can
be killed by exposure to temperatures of 28 degrees F (-2.5 degrees C)
or below;, acclimated plants can survive exposure to temperatures as low
as 8 degrees F (-22 degrees C) [42].  Mountain cranberry is susceptible
to several diseases and insect infestations [38,42].

Environmental considerations:  Mountain cranberry growing near smelters
can accumulate high concentrations of heavy metals [95].  Plants growing
near a zinc smelter in Poland exhibited reduced leaf size and other
types of damage [20].  Mountain cranberry can also accumulate a wide
range of radionuclides such as radium-226, lead-210, and uranium [97].

Tests indicate that summer oil spills are more damaging to mountain
cranberry than those that occur in February [38].  Predisturbance cover
of 48 percent was reduced to 0 by a summer crude oil spill.  A
low-intensity winter spill reduced cover to 12 percent while a
high-intensity oil winter spill reduced cover to 6 percent [38].
Recovery of mountain cranberry can occur 10 to 15 years after an oil
spill [38].

Timber harvest:  After some types of logging treatments in a mature
white spruce (Picea glauca) forest in Alaska, cover and frequency of
mountain cranberry increased fairly rapidly [26].

Biomass:  Mountain cranberry biomass is strongly correlated with canopy
cover [44,77].  Maximum dry matter accumulation occurs in full sunlight
[43].  Holloway [42] observed that 80 percent of the total biomass of
mature plants is underground.  Biomass has been examined in detail
[38,42,94].

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium vitis-idaea | Mountain Cranberry