Cornus unalashkensis
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BUNCHBERRY, CREEPING DOGWOOD
syn. Cornus canadensis
Family: Cornaceae
Pronounced: KOR-nus kan-a-DEN-sis
GROWING GUIDE
Geographic Origin:
North America, North Asia, Greenland.
Plant Group:
Sub shrub.
Hardiness:
Sunset zones: 1-7, 8, 9, 14-16.
USDA zones: 2-7.
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Flowering period: Late spring to early summer.
Flowering attributes: Green flowers surrounded by showy greenish white, sometimes pink flushed, bracts.
Leaf attributes: Whorls of green leaves that remain evergreen in most of the Pacific Northwest maritime climate.
Growth habit: Creeping subshrub.
Light: Shade, dappled shade or partial shade with morning sun.
Soil: Moist, acidic, humus rich soil.
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Pests and Diseases: No serious problems.
Rainy Side Notes
Local, Pacific Northwest indigenous people found many uses for the plant and berries of Cornus unalashkensis. The Makah ate the berries fresh and called them, bubukwak!tibupt, which means berries with pebbles in them. The Quinault thought the fruit was poisonous and called them olka’stap, which means snake berry. The Hoh and Quileute used the berries in ceremonies and used the bark as a tonic. Both tribes dried the leaves and smoked them.
In modern times bunchberry is used for a number of medicinal* purposes. Used in place of aspirin, it helps decrease inflammation, without the stomach problems aspirin sometimes gives. Bunchberry is used as a tea for fevers and chills; and for colitis, dysentery, diarrhea and gastritis, the mild herb is sometimes preferred to harsher remedies.
This little ground cover can be difficult to establish, but once entrenched in the garden, it thrives in partial shade to full shade conditions. Mine thrive in the shade of a vine maple. The bunchberry won't do well in clay soil without amendments; it needs the beneficial fungus that breaks down wood to thrive. I have good success establishing the plants by throwing rotted wood chips or pieces of rotting wood in the planting hole and mulching with shredded bark mulch. Add additional compost and or bark mulch every other year. Although bunchberry spreads wide by underground runners, it is slow in doing so.
Dogwood-Raspberry Syrup:
2 cups of bunchberries (Cornus unalashkensis)
2 cups raspberries
¼-cup honey
4 tablespoons water
Place all ingredients in a saucepan. On medium heat, cook until berries are soft. Press fruit through a colander.
Syrup should be stored in a refrigerator. Use on pancakes, crepes or waffles.
Debra Teachout-Teashon
Photographed in author's garden.
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