NORMAL CRANBERRY — Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. or Rhodococcum vitis-idaea (L.) Avror. ) berry) — from the heather family (Ericaceae); Russian name: common lingonberry; born names: barberry, kamyanka. Widespread in forest and tundra zones, in Northern and Central Europe, Asia, North America. In Ukraine, it grows in Polissia, in the Carpathians, occasionally in the north of the forest-steppe, mainly in coniferous and mixed forests. Evergreen bush up to 15 cm tall. with a long, creeping rhizome. The stem is erect, branched. The leaves are alternate, short-petiolate, leathery, obovate or elliptic, blunt or notched at the top, with entire or jagged, curved downward edges, 5– 30 mm long, dark green above, shiny, below — green, matte with dark brown dots (lobes). The flowers are regular, with a white-pink bell-shaped corolla, collected in short drooping tassels. Fruit — multi-seeded spherical shiny bright red berry, up to 8 mm in diameter, bitter in taste. Blooms in May, fruits ripen in August-September. Lives up to 300 years. Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) APPLICATION Decoction of leaves and shoots B.z. in medicine, it is used for kidney disease, pyelitis, cystitis. Flour substitute. In addition, in folk medicine, the shoots of B.z. used as an astringent, hemostatic, tonic, wound-healing, antipyretic, anti-scurvy, anthelmintic, sedative drug, in catarrh of VDSH, rheumatism, dysentery, hypoacid gastritis, hepatocholecystitis, stomach tumors, diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, hypertension, enteritis. Leaves are used in veterinary medicine, fruits — in homeopathy. Infusion, decoction of fruits has a laxative, diuretic, antiseptic, anthelmintic effect, is used in diseases of the liver and gall bladder, hypoacid gastritis, hypertension, ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, diatheses, arthritis; outside — with eye diseases, skin diseases. Fruit juice is used for vitamin deficiency C, A and colds. Fruits are edible fresh and processed; food coloring.
