Chapter 4.9

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Cranberry.jpg

Suggested citation for this chapter.

Cornwell,E. (2022) Fleshy Fruits. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/

Introduction to highbush cranberries

The highbush cranberry, known by the scientific name Viburnum edule, is a plant found across many of the northern states in the United States of America as well as coast to coast across Canada (United States Department of Agriculture [USDA], Accessed Nov 28, 2021). It produces small red and orange berries that are sour in taste (Kari & Russell, 2020). The red orange berries produced by the highbush cranberry are safe for human consumption and also being consumed by wild animals occasionally (USDA, Accessed Nov 28, 2021).

Common names for the plant

The Highbush Cranberry has multiple common names for the singular scientific one, depending on the source, different, or a set of different common names may be assigned to Viburnum edule. Highbush Cranberry was the common name used throughout the report, as it was the assigned common name given for Viburnum edule, it was also used in Kari and Russell’s book Plantlore/Dena'ina K'et'una: An Ethnobotany of the Dena'ina People of Southcentral Alaska. (Kari & Russell, 2020). The USDA labels the common name for Viburnum edule to be Squashberry (USDA, Accessed Nov 28, 2021). The book Wild Plant Use by The Woods Cree (Nihithawak) of East-Central Saskatchewan refers to Viburnum edule as Squash berry or lowbush cranberry (Leighton, 1985). This leaves Viburnum edule with 3 common names: highbush cranberry, lowbush cranberry and squashberry, while the first 2 listed conflict with each other in the lowbush and highbush descriptions. As mentioned, going forward Viburnum edule will be referred to as the highbush cranberry, as that was the original name given in the report topic.

Characteristics

Although the highbush cranberry is considered a cranberry, it's part of the honeysuckle family (Kari & Russell, 2020). It is a medium to large sized shrub with grey bark that is typically smooth in texture, as well as leaves that tend to resemble maple leaves, it produces red or red-orange berries that tend to be sour in flavour with a singular large seed found within the berry (Kari & Russell, 2020). An image of the berries it produces can be found in appendix B. Once mature, the plant will be around 2 feet in height but can continue to grow to reach a maximum height of 12 feet (USDA, Accessed Nov 28, 2021). Appendix A has a diagram of the highbush cranberry.

The highbush cranberry primarily grows in spring while blooming in late spring, while the berries it produces are typically available from summer into fall (USDA, Accessed Nov 28, 2021). The highbush cranberry grows in any soil texture, although it requires a more specific pH level which is around neutral to slightly acidic (USDA, Accessed Nov 28, 2021). It’s not the most resistant to climate changes, as the highbush cranberry isn’t very drought tolerant although it has some resistance to fires as well as being extremely cold tolerant, withstanding temperatures as low as -52.2°C (-62°F) over winters (USDA, Accessed Nov 28, 2021).

Indeginous communities and their uses

The first indeginous community that will be looked at is the Dena’ina community of Alaska. The Dena’ina peoples referred to the highbush cranberry as the eltsuntsa, they noted that the berries produced by the highbush cranberry were quite sour, they weren't the most fond of the plant because of this reason (Kari & Russell, 2020). Dena'ina found that the highbush cranberry could still be a good food despite its sour taste, as well as that the berries could soothe a sore throat when eaten (Kari & Russell, 2020). They also would convert the bark taken from the plant into a tea by boiling it, this tea would help with stomach aches, but also could soothe a sore throat when gurgled (Kari & Russell, 2020). They also had some non-food and drink-related uses for the highbush cranberry, the stems were ideal for making the frames of birch bark baskets that were used within the community and the berries themselves could be boiled and used as a red dye (Kari & Russell, 2020).

Another indegenous community that used highbush cranberries was the Woods Cree, or Nihithawak, of Saskatchewan. They would eat the berries raw as food but also would allow some to freeze for storage as well as converting them to jams and jellies (Leighton, 1985). Cree also found the highbush cranberry could work well as a medicine for certain issues, like using flower buds to treat sore lips and chewing twig tips to help with a sore throat (Leighton, 1985). The plant was also an ingredient in a gargle for a sore throat, this may be similar to the tea used by the Dena’ina (Leighton, 1985). The root from the highbush cranberry plant also was used as an ingredient in a decoction for treating teething related sickness (Leighton, 1985).

Culinary usage

The primary culinary usage for highbush cranberries would be either eating them as raw berries, or converting them into jam or a jelly like mentioned in the previous section (Leighton, 1985). For further culinary uses, some examples from closely related cranberries could be taken. Viburnum opulus L. could be an example for this, as it shares the same sour, small red coloured berries that the highbush cranberry has (Small, 2013). Sharing the same culinary uses as the highbush cranberry, Viburnum opulus L. also could be used in sauces, Pies and distilled spirits and wines (Small, 2013). In general, Viburnum opulus L. can be used in recipes for conventional cranberry, which may suggest that the highbush cranberry could be used the same (Small, 2013).

Additional medical usage

Cranberries and many of their products are connected to many health benefits (Watson 2000). One of those benefits is that it acts as an antioxidant, which means it can prevent many chronic illnesses like Cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and Arthritis (Watson 2000). There also may be the potential for the highbush cranberry to act as a treatment and/or preventative measure for urinary tract infection, similar to how regular cranberries act, this is not known for sure though and further studies are required to prove this possibility (Watson 2000).

The bark of various Viburnum species, a species which the highbush cranberry is a part of, is used to treat stomach and menstrual cramps (Small, 2013). The reason stated for the Viburnum species to have this trait is a chemical called viburnine, which can act as a muscle relaxant (Small, 2013).

pests of the highbush cranberry

The highbush cranberry may be a target of the Viburnum leaf beetle, an invasive species originating in Europe that strips the leaves down to skeletons, eating everything besides the veins (Small, 2013). Another potential pest could be stem rust caused by Puccinia linkii, which damages the foliage and occasionally the berries produced by the highbush cranberry (Mulvey & Hambleton, 2015). A study conducted on the viburnum stem rust reached a few conclusions, the stem rust could affect almost any part of the plant, from woody stems, shoots, berries and flowers, it also was determined that under 10% of plant limbs affected by the stem rust would survive (Mulvey & Hambleton, 2015).

References

1.Kari, P., R. & Russell P., N. (Ed. 5) (2020). Plantlore/Dena'ina K'et'una: An Ethnobotany of the Dena'ina People of Southcentral Alaska. University Of Alaska Press.

2.Leighton, A., L. (1985). Wild Plant Use By The Woods Cree (NIHITHAWAK) Of East-Central Saskatchewan. National Museums Of Canada.

3.Mulvey, R., L. & Hambleton, S. (2015). Stem Rust of Highbush-Cranberry (Viburnum edule) Caused by Puccinia linkii near Juneau, Alaska. Plant Disease, 99(6), 893.Cornucopia, 1(1). 255-260. https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1201/b15818

4.Watson, RR., (2000). The Health Benefits of Cranberries and Related Fruits. Vegetables, Fruits,and Herbs in Health Promotion, 1(1). 257-269. https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1201/9781420042542

5.United States Department Of Agriculture. (n.d.). Viburnum edule (Michx.) Raf. Plants Database. https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=VIED https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1094/PDIS-09-14-0987-PDN

6.Small, E. (2013). (American) Cranberry Bush (Highbush Cranberry). North American