Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry) - photos and description
General: Single stemmed sub-shrub from creeping rootstalks, often found in large colonies.
Flowers: Flowers solitary, terminal, with 4 white, petal-like bracts. Flower measured to 4.5 cm wide.
Fruit: Bright red berries in mid summer, berries 6 mm in diameter.
Leaves: Lower leaves opposite, and a whorl of 4 to 6 leaves at top of stem. Leaves obovate, glossy, quite noticeable veining. Bottom and top of leaves sparsely hairy.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 15 cm. I measured plants to 25 cm tall.
Habitat: Moist woods.
Abundance: Common.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: Took the above photos June 20th, mixed forest east central Saskatchewan, about 400 km northeast of Regina, SK, and June 25th, mossy spruce woods, south of La Ronge, about 600 km north of our home in Regina, SK.