Flower profile
Swedish cornel
Cornus suecica
Swedish cornel (Cornus suecica) is a shrub in the Cornaceae family, blooming mostly June–July across the U.S.
Swedish cornel is a flowering plant. In Alaska it's most often seen in bloom in June–July.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.
On our lists for: Alaska
Quick look
Cornus suecica, the dwarf cornel or bunchberry, is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.
- It belongs to the Cornaceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as a shrub / a subshrub with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as native to Alaska. NatureServe
- In Alaska, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–July. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 509 research-grade sightings of it in Alaska, ranking #84 among the 121 flowers on our Alaska list. iNaturalist
When does it bloom?
In Alaska, most flowering sightings come in June–July.
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
- Alaska
- No list Alaska has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Alaska ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Alaska.
- Rare elsewhere
- No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.
It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records swedish cornel in 1 states.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
Alaska.
Alaska counties with USDA records: Aleutians East, Aleutians West, Anchorage, Bethel, Chugach, Copper River, Denali, Dillingham, Fairbanks North Star, Juneau, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Lake and Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna, Nome, Northwest Arctic, Sitka, Southeast Fairbanks, Yakutat, Yukon-Koyukuk.
Names, range and relatives
Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Alaska: Native; Canada: Native; Greenland: Native; St. Pierre and Miquelon: Native.
Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Chamaepericlymenum suecicum, Cornella suecica, Swida suecica.
County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 20 counties across 1 states; the most are in Alaska (20).
Other Cornus on Bloomipedia (9): Flowering dogwood, Canadian bunchberry, Red osier dogwood, Roughleaf dogwood, Alternate-leaved dogwood, Western bunchberry, Silky dogwood, Cornelian cherry, Kousa dogwood.
More Alaska flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile COSU4.
- iNaturalist, Cornus suecica: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Cornus suecica (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Alaska: Alaska prohibited and restricted noxious weeds (11 AAC 34.020).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Cornus suecica (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
- Photo: Allison Gray via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.