Bunchberries of Isle Royale

Bunchberries are the flower of the Canada dogwood. Peterson's field guide to edible plants describes them as "insipid-tasting" and "essentially tasteless," but "plentiful and nutritious."

Despite that ringing endorsement, I decided not to sample them. They are indeed plentiful on Isle Royale.

In addition to the color of the berries, notice the cluster of four leafs on those branches with berries, visible in this picture. The ribs of the leafs also aid identification, as they run nearly parallel with the outside of the leaf.

These were found outside Threemile, August 2007.