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Family: Cornaceae
bunchberry dogwood
[Chamaepericlymenum canadense (L.) Asch. & Graebn., moreCornella canadensis (L.) Rydb., Cornus canadensis var. dutillyi (Lepage) B.Boivin]  |
Subshrub, spreading by woody rhizomes 10 - 20 cm tall Leaves: opposite but appear whorled, in clusters of four to six at ends of stems, shiny dark green, 4 - 8 cm long, lance-shaped to oval or inversely egg-shaped with arching (arcuate) veins, sometimes hairy. Leaves turn red in fall. Flowers: borne in dense clusters, surrounded by four to six whitish to purplish petal-like bracts, greenish white, 1 - 2 cm long. Fruit: fleshy with a center seed (drupe), borne in dense clusters, red, 8 mm long. Similar species: Cornus canadensis has opposite leaves with arching venation, which is characteristic of the genus. However, it is easily distinguished from other dogwoods in the Chicago Region, because it is a low-growing subshrub with red fruit and flowers surrounded by four petal-like bracts. Flowering: mid May to late June Habitat and ecology: Very rare in the Chicago Region, this species forms colonies in boggy woods and in organic soil near the transition zone of wet-mesic swamps and shrub and sedge communities. Occurence in the Chicago region: native Notes: This species is sometimes used as an ornamental groundcover. Etymology: Cornus comes from the Latin word cornu, meaning horn, referring to its hard wood. Canadensis means "from Canada." Author: The Morton Arboretum Shrub 1-5 m, often forming thickets; twigs glabrous, at first green, soon becoming tan and eventually gray-brown; old bark mostly smooth and gray; pith white (tan); lvs lanceolate to elliptic, mostly 4-8 cm, a third to half as wide, abruptly acuminate, cuneate at base, often papillose-whitened beneath, sparsely strigose to glabrous on both sides, with 3 or 4(5) lateral veins to a side; infls often very numerous, convex to often pyramidal and paniculiform; fr at first leaden, becoming white (light blue), 5-8 mm, on reddish pedicels; 2n=22. Moist soil, woods, thickets, roadsides, and streambanks; Me. and s. Que. to s. Man., s. to Va., s. Ill., and Mo., adjoining but only slightly overlapping the range of no. 6 [Cornus stricta Lam.]; the two might well be considered vars. of one sp. (C. paniculata; ? C. foemina, a doubtful name) Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp. ©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
