Swedish bunchberry, Swedish dogwood, Dwarf cornel, Dwarf cornelian cherry
Cornus suecica

Family: Cornaceae

What it is like

A shrubby plant. It keeps growing from year to year. It has an underground rhizome that sends out suckers. The stems grow from this. It grows 30 cm high. There are 3-6 pairs of pale green rounded leaves. The flowers have 4 white bracts with a small purplish black flower in the centre. There are 3-10 bright red berries at the top. They are about 1 cm across.

There are about 45 Cornus species.

Where it is found

Temperate. It grows on dry and rocky sites in the Arctic in Asia and Europe. It grows best in moist acidic soils.

Countries/locations it is found in

Alaska, Arctic, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Europe (country/location of origin), Faroe Islands, Finland, Germany, Greenland, Japan, Myanmar, North America, Scandinavia, Sweden, USA

How it is used for food

The fruit can be mixed with others berries for puddings and jams.

The fruit are especially eaten by children.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

It is usually grown by dividing the plant removing suckers.

Its other names

Local names

Cengqullektat, Cingqullektaq, Cingqullkitag

Synonyms

Chamaepericlymenum suecicum (L.) Asch. & Graebn.;