The Collaborative International Dictionary
cranberry tree \cranberry tree\, cranberry-tree \cranberry-tree\n. a deciduous thicket-forming Old World shrub ( Viburnum opulus) with clusters of white flowers and small bright red berries. It is sometimes called high cranberry to distinguish it from the marsh cranberry or low cranberry.
Syn: guelder rose, European cranberrybush, European cranberry bush, crampbark, Viburnum opulus.
Cranberry \Cran"ber*ry\ (kr[a^]n"b[e^]r*r[y^]), n.; pl.
Cranberries (-r[i^]z). [So named from its fruit being ripe
in the spring when the cranes return.
--Dr. Prior.] (Bot.)
A red, acid berry, much used for making sauce, etc.; also,
the plant producing it (several species of Vaccinum or
Oxycoccus.) The high cranberry or cranberry tree is a
species of Viburnum ( Viburnum Opulus), and the other is
sometimes called low cranberry or marsh cranberry to
distinguish it.