dwarf bog bunchberry (Lapland cornel)
Cornaceae (Dogwood family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect, 4-26 cm tall, minutely bristly with 2-pronged hairs.
Leaves:
1-2 pairs of stem leaves below the terminal pair or whorl of 4-6 leaves, egg-shaped to elliptic, unstalked, lateral veins arising from the base of the leaf or nearly so, sparsely hairy above, glabrous and paler below.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary, umbrella-shaped clusters subtended by 4 white, yellowish, pinkish or purplish bracts; petals and sepals dark purplish.
Fruits:
Fleshy drupes, 7-12 mm long, red.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
686 | 244 | 1075 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | 2 | 45 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
159 | 20 | 240 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
14 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ICH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(1), ICH(8), IDF(1), MH(1), SWB(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to mesic forests and meadows in the lowland to alpine zones; rare in coastal BC; circumpolar, N to AK and NT and E to NF; Greenland, Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Chamaepericlymenum suecicum (L.) Asch. & Graebn.
Cornella suecica (L.) Rydb.
Swida suecica (L.) Holub
Similar Species
There are three species of bunchberry in British Columbia: Cornus canadensis, Cornus suecica, and Cornus unalaschkensis. All three species are very similar in appearance, and are not easy to separate, often requiring microscopic work. However there are some distinguishing characteristics that are readily visible. Griffith and Ganders (1983) provides the following description of the three species:
"[Cornus canadensis] has four to six leaves at the top of its stem and greenish-white petals (not the showy white bracts, but the tiny petals inside the bracts).....[Cornus suecica] has three to six more or less equal pairs of leaves along it's short stem....the petals are purple or at least partially purple......[Cornus unalaschkensis] has flowers like those of [Cornus suecica], but has whorls of leaves like those of [Cornus canadensis]." |