OUR MISSION: ACER supports communities, government agencies and corporations in taking action to reduce biodiversity loss and strengthen climate resilience by increasing and monitoring urban and riparian zone forest canopy.

Shrubs: Highbush Cranberry

Latin name: Viburnum trilobum

Other common names: American Cranberry

General description: Highbush Cranberry is a deciduous shrub belonging to the Caprifoliaceae family with an open spreading habit and a height ranging from 6.5 to 13 ft (2 to 4 m). Highbush cranberries are native to Canada with a range from New Brunswick to British Columbia and North to Alaska making it very winter hardy.

Highbush Cranberry - Bark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves: Opposite, simple and deciduous; blades sharply 3-lobed with a deep cleft separating the median lobe; rounded or a little heart-shaped at the base.

Shub: Highbush Cranberry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twigs: Branchlets smooth and gray to brownish-gray.

Berries: Round, orange to red, juicy, edible (best if cooked). Fruits ripen by late summer. Often the fruit is picked after a frost which tends to make the fruit easier to eat.

Flowers: White, flat-topped, grow in clusters up to 15 cm across; flowers in early summer.

Sources used: Shrubs of Ontario by James H. Soper and Margaret L. Heimburger (1994).