Eurasian dwarf cornel or bunchberry
Cornus suecica
Dogwood family (Cornaceae)
Vestige from the Ice Age?
Cornus suecica is a 5-30 cm high herbaceous perennial of the dogwood family, which otherwise comprises plants with bush or tree habit. From branched rhizomes, square, often reddish stems appear with round to elliptical shaped leaves. The inflorescence, an umbel of closely packed, small black-red flowers surrounded by four, large involucre bracts, emerges from the apex of the main stem. After flowering the bracts drop to reveal a cluster of brick-red drupes. Birds feed on the fruits and aid the dispersal of the seed.
The umbel of the dwarf cornel is included in the coat of arms of the Drentse municipality of Vries – known today as Tynaarlo. Finds of pollen in soil cores from the end of the last Ice Age indicate that this species was once much more widespread across the Netherlands. It remains uncertain as to whether the current species is a vestige from the Ice Age, or - that given birds help its dispersal - this rare plant was actually a later introduction.
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Crown jewel in the Haren Botanic Garden.
The berries taste good to birds, especially fowl, so seeds get a good start if deposited in the bird’s droppings and in this way are dispersed.
Cornus suecica is an arctic plant probably having survived in the Netherlands since the Ice Age.
Details
Description: | Herb, up to 30 cm; herbaceous plant with annual stems |
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Distributions: | In maritime climates of the northern hemisphere |
Habitat: | Forest edge, forest and heathland (edges of moorland and mountain heathland). |
Year cycle: | Perennial (trees and shrubs included) |
Hardiness: | Colder than -4 f (very hardy) |
Flowering period: | Mei - juni |
Flower color: | White, black |
Notes on flowers: | Inflorescence with 10-20 small, almost black flowers surrounded by four conspicuous white petal-like bracts. |
Fruiting period: | Augustus |
At its best: | Mei - juni |