BUNCHBERRY; DWARF CORNEL 



Cornus canadensis L. 

 DOGWOOD FAMILY 



The Dogwood family is represented in Canada by many 

 handsome shrubs and trees. The most famous of the latter 

 group are the two flowering dogwoods, one species found in 

 Southern Ontario and the other on the Pacific Coast. These 

 trees, when covered in Spring with clouds of large white blossoms 

 and in Autumn with brilliant foliage and bright red berries, are 

 the most splendid ornaments of the woodlands where they occur. 

 Owing to their limited range, however, these flowering dogwoods 

 are known to comparatively few Canadians. 



But the Dwarf Cornel, the pigmy of the family, is common 

 in cool, damp woods from coast to coast. Its floral arrangement 

 is like that of its two big relatives. The true flowers are small 

 and greenish, in a compact head surrounded by four white, petal- 

 like bracts. Each flower-head springs from the centre of a 

 whorl of broad, strongly-ribbed leaves, borne at the summit 

 of a stem from three to eight inches high. The stems are pro- 

 duced freely from creeping underground rootstocks and some- 

 times dense patches are formed. A stretch of forest floor carpeted 

 with these handsome leaves, studded with four-pointed stars, 

 is a pretty sight. 



The flowers fade, and are succeeded by berries in the close 

 bunches which give to the plant one of its common names. In 

 late Summer, therefore, the green carpet is again brightened, 

 this time with coral-red fruit clusters. A little later, the leaves 

 assume the rich crimson shades characteristic of dogwood foliage 

 Even against this gorgeous background the berries stand out 

 clearly. When the sunlight flickers through the autumn woods 

 on this final stage in the Bunchberry development it lights up 

 a scene so warm and glowing that memory recalls it with pleasure 

 in the gray days of Winter. 



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