Bunchberry (Cornus canadenis)

Gitxsan name: gapk'oyp
Wet'suwet'en name: dinih yez

Botanical Description

• trailing low, somewhat woody at base, 5-20 cm tall
• evergreen leaves, 4-7 in terminal whorl 2-8 cm long, green above, whitish beneath
• flowers are white to purplish tinged with petal-like bracts surrounding a central cluster of small greenish-white to purplish flowers
• bright red, fleshy, berrylike drupes, pulpy but sweet                                       
• found in dry to moist woods from valley bottoms to subalpine elevations                          

Photo courtesy of Frank Boas (59kB)

Ethnobotanical Use

The berries were eaten fresh with oolichan grease or mixed with other berries to make berry cakes. They have a sweet taste and a large seed. Two or three handfuls were added to cooking berries that were to be dried in rolls or cakes, as the bunchberries act like a kind of glue or thickening agent that holds the roll or cake together and prevents cracking.

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This digital collection was produced under contract to the SchoolNet Digital Collection Program, Industry Canada.
Revised: 09/20/98