Vaccinium erythrocarpum
Vaccinium erythrocarpum — southern mountain cranberry or bearberry — is a deciduous shrub native to the Southeastern United States. It grows in high elevations of the Southern and Central Appalachians, often in woodlands and shaded areas, including Southern Appalachian heath balds.
Flowers appear in June. They are hermaphroditic, tubular with reflexed petals, and have long tassel-like stamens that hang below the corolla. The berries are small, scarlet, and somewhat translucent, ripening in late summer to early autumn. They taste like cranberries and are edible for people and wildlife. Pollination is mainly by large bees.
Distribution includes North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, with rarer occurrences in Kentucky and Georgia (including Blood Mountain). The conservation status is Secure.
Taxonomy note: it was once treated as the same species as Vaccinium japonicum, but they are now recognized as separate species. Vaccinium erythrocarpum belongs to the cranberry group Oxycoccus, within section Oxycoccoides, which consists of deciduous shrubs (unlike the evergreen trailing vines in other groups).
Commercial production is limited because the plants are rare and produce small amounts of fruit.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:19 (CET).