Cranberry is the common name given to any of several related plants in the genus vaccinium, but especially to the fruit of vaccinium oxycoccos.
The cranberry is an extremely tart fruit and must be sweetenend to use in juice, jam or sauce.
Cranberries are well known in North America as the basis of cranberry sauce, a sweetened condiment served with meats, particularly turkey at Thanksgiving and to a lesser extent, Christmas.
Cranberries contain vitamin C and other antioxidants; research continues into their possible medicinal use.