Cranberry in Polissia
Vaccinium oxycoccos
The cranberry is a tiny evergreen dwarf shrub with thin creeping stems that trail over sphagnum moss. The leaves are small and leathery, dark green above. The pink flowers have petals bent backwards and grow on long, thin stalks. The berries are red, round and sour.
The cranberry grows on raised and transitional sphagnum bogs, which in Polissia are especially widespread in Rivne region, Volyn and Zhytomyr region. It is abundant in the Rivne Nature Reserve, the Polissia Nature Reserve and on the Cheremske bog.
The berries ripen in September but taste best after the first frosts, and some of them overwinter under the snow. Cranberries are rich in vitamins and acids, so they keep for a long time without processing. For many Polissia villages, cranberry picking is a traditional autumn income.
Picking berries in nature reserves is prohibited. Outside them, pick by hand, without “combine” combs that tear out the stems. Do not walk across a bog alone or without landmarks: sphagnum bogs are treacherous, and it is easy to get lost in fog.
When to see: berries in September–October, after the frosts; flowers in June
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990.
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