Cornus canadensis (Canadian Dwarf Cornel, Canadian Bunchberry, Crackerberry, in China cao zhu yu) is a herbaceous member of the Cornaceae (dogwood) family. It grows about 20–30 cm tall and bears tiny flowers a few millimeters across that form an inflorescence at the center of four white, petal-like bracts 3–4 cm diameter.
Each flower has highly elastic petals that flip backward, releasing springy filaments that are cocked underneath the petals. The filaments snap upward flinging pollen out of containers hinged to the filaments. This motion takes place in less than half a millisecond and the pollen experiences 800 times the acceleration that the space shuttle does during liftoff. The Bunchberry has one of the fastest plant actions found so far requiring a camera capable of shooting 10,000 frames per second to catch the action.
The fruits are edible with a mild flavour somewhat like apples. The large seeds within are somewhat hard and crunchy. Birds are the main dispersal agents of the seeds, consuming the fruit during their fall migration. In Alaska, Bunchberry is an important forage plant for mule deer, black-tailed deer and moose, which consume it all growing season long.
In the past this species has been given a number of names including Chamaepericlymenum canadense (Linnaeus) Ascherson & Graebner and Cornella canadensis (Linnaeus) Rydberg, its placement in Cornus has some time been problematic. Bunchberry, a forest species, hybridizes with Cornus suecica, a bog species. When the two species grow near each other in their overlapping ranges in Alaska, Labrador, and Greenland cross-pollination can occur producing a hybrid population.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus_canadensis
See also: Flowers Jamaica, Gift Philippines, Flower Philippines
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