Swedish Cornel
Cornus suecica
The four 'white petals' are actually modified leaves called bracts; the true flowers are the tiny black-purple dots clustered in the center.
- Scientific name
- Cornus suecica
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Cornales › Cornaceae › Cornus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Boreal forests, acidic heathlands, moors, and peat bogs.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (sunlight, water, and soil nutrients).
- Range
- Scandinavia, Scotland, Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland
- Size
- 5 to 25 cm in height.
- Lifespan
- Perennial; the underground rhizome system can persist for decades.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Peatland drainage, climate warming in subarctic regions, and habitat fragmentation.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This plant is safe to touch and the berries are non-toxic, though they are mealy and tasteless. No medical action is required for contact. Avoid trampling the surrounding mossy habitat.
Cornus suecica ( dwarf cornel or bunchberry ) is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia, and also locally in extreme northeastern and northwestern North America.
Photo: Allison Gray, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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