When I lived farther south, my favorite thing in the spring was the blooming of the Cornus florida flowering dogwood trees. The four-petalled white bracts that surround the small central button-like flower are simply breathtaking.
When I moved to Vermont, I had a great sense of loss when I discovered that they are not reliably hardy above Zone 5. The northern native dogwood, Cornus alternifolia, in my opinion, is a lesser flowering alternate. Its flowers are a cluster, or cyme, a lacy effect not to my liking. Even so, the alternifolia has redeeming qualities of its own, but that is another story.
While hiking in Maine, I discovered the little dogwood groundcover, Cornus canadensis, smothered in my beloved simple white “quatre-temps” flower. The verdant ground was covered in these small perfect white flowers, roughly the size of a quarter.
I fell instantly in love. This native plant is found in all but 18 of the United States. It is so common that many people do not even notice it. I was one such person and now I am an ardent convert to bunchberry fandom.
In the past, confusion reigned about the taxonomy of the bunchberry (it was known both as Chamaepericlymenum canadense and as Cornella canadensis). But for now it’s settled, and this adorable little plant certainly does deserve much regard.
The flower is complete, in that it possesses both sexes. The scientist in me was stunned to learn that the bunchberry flower tosses its pollen so rapidly (two to three thousand times the force of gravity) that it can be captured photographically only by an extremely fast camera (with many thousands of frames per second capability). This might well be the fastest plant mechanism known to science. (To geek out and learn more about this mechanism, check out web.williams.edu/Biology/explodingflower/index.html. Why this plant evolved to explode its pollen in such a violent way is mysterious. Though Cornus canadensis is but small in stature, it is the consummate champion at plant sex.
That aside, the sumptuous ripened red fruits that develop are a colorful and pretty sight. They are also a major forage for birds, moose, deer and many other critters of the woods and fields. Supposedly, the berry tastes a bit like apple, though I have not yet tried one.
Ancient Native peoples often used this vitamin-rich berry in pemmican, which sustained them during times of sparse food. The berry is high in pectin and allowed for a more pliant consistency in the usual stiff textured pemmican. There are many purported medicinal uses for this plant, but that’s not my field.
Bunchberry’s whorled leaves color up in the fall in rich red and burgundy. The plant’s landscape garden value is endless. As an edger or an accent, it is infallible. I like to use it around stepping stones. This way we are sure to look down at it as we step along and see its many virtues in any season. This little ground-hugger likes soil rich in organic matter. Cornus canadensis expands its territory by rhizomes, cloning itself in large clumps. It grows in sun or shade, but does best in part sun. It likes cool moist soil. In times of drought, diligence with the hose will preserve this beautiful groundcover.
When I was finally able to locate a tray of these plants, I was in the process of installing a small woodland vignette next to my outdoor sitting area. I had placed large flat stepping stones and wanted to hem them all around with bunchberry. It took about three years to get a contiguous mat of ground cover. The original spacing was approximately a foot apart, on center.
I had to take great care in weeding, all done by hand, because I did not want to harm the rhizomes just beneath the soil surface. This fastidious work was done either over a cup of tea early in the day, or a glass of wine later on, as the planting is so close to my settle space. It did not take much work at all. Either way, the weeding was always a delight, and it has panned out into my original intended vision. This little garden has white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), harebell (Campanula rotundifolia L.) and other small flowering native and foliage plants. It is an up close and personal garden.
I do still long for Cornus florida flowering trees, but with this carpet of bunchberry I am quite content.
Liz Krieg is a gardener and flower farmer who has spent the past 30 years in horticulture. She lives in Bethel.