Why did you choose this topic?
I chose the cranberry plant because it's fruit, cranberries, is very popular and, even more, have a lot of health benefits. For example, cranberries are often a popular part of holiday celebrations in the forms of cranberry sauce, cranberry drinks and dried cranberries added to stuffing, casseroles or dessert. Also, and as far as their health benefits go, “cranberries are at the top of the list due to their high nutrient and antioxidant content, and are often referred to as a 'super food,'” which is hard to argue against when “half a cup of cranberries contains only 25 calories!” (Retrieved 10-02-2013 from http://www.medical newstoday.com/articles/269142.php.) What is the commercial importance of cranberry plant?
The cranberry, along with the blueberry and Concord grape, is one of North America's three native fruits that are commercially grown. Cranberries were first used by Native Americans, who discovered the wild berry's versatility as a food, fabric dye and healing agent. Today, cranberries are commercially grown throughout the northern part of the United States and are available in both fresh and processed forms. (Retrieved 10-03-2014 from http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/history.html.) Based upon data taken during the four most recent years in which complete data are available, that is 2009–2012, “the cranberry industry in the United States was responsible annually for $3.55 billion in value - added output and 11,610 jobs, and the cranberry industry in Canada was responsible annually for $411 million in value - added output and 2,708 jobs.” This economic activity considered on the primary level. When analyzed for its impact, economically, begets additional economic activity through the normal workings of the economy. Income created in one sector of the economy reverberates to other sectors as people and businesses purchase goods and services. (Retrieved 10-02-2014 from http://www.uscranberries.com/Images/News/General Folder/EIReport20140814.pdf.)
What is the history of cranberry plant?
The cranberry is a native American fruit. Its native range extends in temperate climate zones from the East Coast of North America, on the East, to the Central U. S. and Canada, on the West, and from Southern Canada, in the north, to the Appalachian Mountains, in the south. The name "cranberry" comes from the Pilgrims, who named it the, "craneberry", because “the small, pink blossoms that appear in the spring resemble(d) the head and bill of a Sandhill crane.” “European settlers adopted the Native American uses for the fruit and found the berry a valuable bartering tool. American whalers and mariners carried cranberries on their voyages to prevent scurvy. In 1816, Captain Henry Hall became the first to successfully cultivate cranberries. By 1871, the first association of cranberry growers in the United States had formed, and now, U.S. farmers harvest approximately 40,000 acres of cranberries each year.” (Retrieved 10-03-2014 from http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/history.html.)
