Severe fires that remove the underlying sphagnum layer generally kill underground reproductive organs. Without fire, eventually shaded out by taller shrub and tree species. Commercial cranberry growers often use fire to maintain bogs and increase fruiting. Small mammals such as chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, and hares may occasionally feed on the berries. Native Americans used the berries, twigs, and bark for medicinal purposes.
Fruits have good flavor and often used to make jams and jellies.
However, they are seldom abundant enough to be gathered in large quantities. Seeds do not germinate immediately after berries become ripe, but dormancy can be overcome by after ripening. Seed dispersal by birds and animals that eat the fruits. Regenerates vegetatively by sprouting from rhizomes and by layering. By seed, following cold stratification.