Will the real "highbush cranberry" please step forward.

One of the male goldfinches perched, moments ago, on the niger thistle feeder, his feathers clearly molting into brighter chrome yellow colors. He, like the fields and woods around the house, is transforming from drab colors appropriate for Winter survival to bright, breeding colors that thrive throughout Spring. Soon he will be joined by multi-hued wildflower blossoms, verdant variant leaves of grass, and, still later, green arrays emergent in treetops and branch tips. But, for today, we are limited to gray, cloud-filled skies and bursts of bright bird-feathers.

buckthorn to be replaced by "highbush cranberries"

Photo by J. Harrington

The Better Half [BH] and I have been pondering alternatives to the "out-of-stock" response we received from our local county soil and water district to the order BH placed for red osier dogwoods and high bush cranberries. Suddenly, life became somewhat more interesting than we anticipated. One source claims that Viburnum edule (squashberry) is hardy in USDA zones 1-11. Those of us who lean toward the skeptical side doubt that and began investigating. Here's much of what we discovered about Viburnums in Minnesota, as we seek native plants to replace the buckthorn we've been pulling.

Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota, Welby Smith, lists the following as present in Minnesota,

• Viburnum edule (Michx.) Raf. - native
• Viburnum lentago L. - native
• Viburnum opulus L.
• Viburnum rafinesquianum Schult. - native
• Viburnum trilobum Marsh. - native

Minnesota Wildflowers also lists five Viburnums, not including Viburnum trilobum

• Viburnum edule (Michx.) Raf. - squashberry
• Viburnum lentago L. - nannyberry
• Viburnum opulus var americanum - american highbush cranberry
• Viburnum opulus var opulus - guelder-rose
• Viburnum rafinesquianum - downy arrow-wood

The foraging resources we have on the bookshelf list Viburnum trilobum and Viburnum edule as edible but not so much the Viburnum opulus var opulus. We also discovered a moderate variation on which species are hardy in which USDA hardiness zone. We're going to try a few Viburnum edule in Zone 4a, which may be several zones South of where it's indigenous in Minnesota and see how they fare. Wish us luck. We're still pondering whether to be upset by the lack of consistency among sources or grateful the inconsistencies aren't worse. We were even more fascinated to find no mention of cranberries in Mary Siisip Geniusz' Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask. At lest she didn't have to cope with buckthorn.

Orange Berries Dark Green Leaves

By John Taggart

Darkened not completely dark let us walk in the darkened field

trees in the field outlined against that which is less dark

under the trees are bushes with orange berries dark green leaves

not poetry’s mixing of yellow light blue sky darker than that

darkness of the leaves a modulation of the accumulated darkness

orange of the berries another modulation spreading out toward us

it is like the reverberation of a bell rung three times

like the call of a voice the call of a voice that is not there.

We will not look up how they got their name in a book of names

we will not trace the name’s root conjecture its first murmuring

the root of the berries their leaves is succoured by darkness

darkness like a large block of stone hauled on a wooden sled

like stone formed and reformed by a dark sea rolling in turmoil.

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