[6] It occurs broadly across cooler climates in the temperate Northern Hemisphere.

This cranberry is a small, prostrate shrub with vine-like stems that root at the nodes.

[5] It is an indicator of moist to wet soils which are low in nitrogen and have a high water table.

In North America, other species found in this forest understory habitat include leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla), bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), rhodora (Rhododendron canadense), glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), sundew (Drosera spp.

), cottonsedge (Eriophorum virginatum and E. angustifolium), and species of sedge and lichen.