The cranberry is a Native American wetland fruit which grows on trailing vines like a strawberry. The vines thrive on the special combination of soils and water properties found in wetlands. Wetlands are nature's sponges; they store and purify water and help to maintain the water table.

Cranberry vines need an inch of water a week to grow. Growers use water to protect cranberries from frost and hot weather in summer.

Cranberries grow on low-lying vines in impermeable beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay. These beds are commonly known as bogs or marshes and were originally created by glacial deposits. Commercial bogs use a system of wetlands, uplands, ditches, flumes, ponds and other water bodies that provide a natural habitat for a variety of plant and animal life.

The annual crop yield for British Columbia is 40,000,000 lbs. There are 80 cranberry growers in British Columbia - 74 belong to the Ocean Spray Growers Co-operative, and 4 are independent. Almost all the berries produced in British Columbia are sold and shipped into the United States for processing to the Ocean Spray Pool along with the crop from Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Oregon and Washington. Fresh cranberries at Granville Island and other local markets are from British Columbia, but most sold in Canadian supermarkets are likely from Wisconsin.

Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow in water. They are grown on peat or sandy marshes. Because cranberries float, marshes are flooded when the fruit is ready for harvesting.

Native Americans used cranberries to make a survival cake known as pemmican. They also used the fruit in medicines and dyes.

The cranberry gets its name from Dutch and German settlers, who called it "crane berry". When the vines bloom in late spring and the flowers' light pink petals twist black, they resemble the head and bill of a crane. Over time, the name was shortened to cranberry.

Give or take a few, there are approximately 450 cranberries in a pound, 4,500 cranberries in a gallon of juice and 45,000 cranberries in a 100 pound barrel.

Cranberries are considered a healthy fruit. They contain no cholesterol and virtually no fat and are low in sodium. Various cranberry products may contain substantial levels of dietary fiber and certain vitamins, as well as a variety of photochemical that may be beneficial to health.