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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]." |
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