Creeping Dogwood, (Bunchberry), Cornus canadensis, Seeds
Ground Cover, Showy Flowers, Showy Edible Berries, Shade Lover, Attracts Birds/Wildlife, Cold Tolerant
The Bunchberry Dogwood is a low growing perennial that spreads by rhizomes that creep just under the soil surface. It has one or two whorls of mid-green leaves at the top of each stem, topped in late spring with showy white bracts surrounding a cluster of tiny flowers. The four white "petals" are actually not part of the flower at all, they are white bracts. There is a greenish cluster of flowers in the center of the four white bracts. In late summer clusters of vivid red berries replace the flowers for a second season of interest. Birds such as Spruce Grouse and Warbling Vireo eat these berries and help to distribute seeds to new locations. Moose are also fond of them, though most people find them bland.
Local, Pacific Northwest indigenous people found many uses for the plant and berries of Cornus canadensis. The Makah ate the berries fresh and called them, bubukwak!tibupt, which means berries with pebbles in them. The Quinault thought the fruit was poisonous and called them olka’stap, which means snake berry. The Hoh and Quileute used the berries in ceremonies and used the bark as a tonic. Both tribes dried the leaves and smoked them.
In modern times Bunchberry is used for a number of medicinal purposes. Used in place of aspirin, it helps decrease inflammation, without the stomach problems aspirin sometimes gives. Bunchberry is used as a tea for fevers and chills; and for colitis, dysentery, diarrhea and gastritis, the mild herb is sometimes preferred to harsher remedies.
Common Names: Bunchberry, Creeping Dogwood, Dwarf Cornel, Cornella canadensis, Crackberry, Pudding Berry, Chamaeperialymenum canadense, Cornus unalashkensis.
Zone: 2 to 6
Growth Rate: Slow
Plant Type: Low growing perennial ground cover.
Family: Cornaceae
Native Range: North America, North Asia, Greenland
Height: 6 to 9 inches
Spread: 2 to 30 feet
Shape: Creeping subshrub.
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer.
Bloom Color: Green/White
Flower/Fruit: Green flowers surrounded by showy greenish white, sometimes pink flushed, bracts, followed by clusters of edible scarlet berries.
Sun: Part Shade to Full Shade
Fall Color: Bronzy-red to Purple
Drought Tolerance: Low
Site Requirements /Soil Tolerances: Prefers moist, acidic soil and cool summers, it thrives in partial shade to full shade conditions. Bunchberry won't do well in clay soil without amendments.
Culture: This little ground cover can be difficult to establish, but once entrenched in the garden, it thrives in partial shade to full shade conditions.
Uses: Beds and Borders, Ground Covers, Rock Garden. Makes a wonderful groundcover under a canopy of trees or in any reasonably moist shady area.
Sowing Cornus canadensis Seeds:
For best results, please follow the instructions in the order provided.
Bunchberry seed need a warm spell then a cold spell in order to mature the embryo and reduce the seed coat.
Scarify: Pour Hot water over seed. Soak for 24 hours
Stratify: Warm 60 Days, then Cold 120 days, 40 Degrees F in a Moist Medium.
Germination: Sow 1/8” deep
For more information about seed pretreatment and growing trees and shrubs from seed, please try the following link:
https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2007/08/fcpg018.pdf
Germination:
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