







Part of the Dogwood Family, Cornus canadensis L., or bunchberry, is a perennial that grows low to the ground. They generally grow anywhere from 3 inches to 8 inches and tend to have colonies that form largely at a time. Six oval-like leaves under four white petal flowers or bracts, the leaves have veins that go from the base to each tip, and in months May to July in place of the white bracts are brilliantly scarlet, red bunches of single seed berries.

Bunchberries are found in most of the United States in moisture ridden places; bogs, forests, and meadows.

This plant was and is still used medicinally used and even used as a snack. The berries can be eaten straight from the plant or your can dry them out and save them for later. Also they were chewed to stabilize sanity. Native Americans dried out the leaves with fire, ground it into a powder, and put it on sores. Tea made from the leaves can be used as a heavy laxative and can be used to help aid in paralysis. The liquid from a strained mash of the roots can be used for washing sore eyes. Tea made from the bark can be used to treat pains in the body.







