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Bunchberry - Cornus canadensis
A small herb that grows from creeping roots and is topped by four white, petal-like bracts above a whorl of leaves. The flowers are tiny, yellowish-green, and are surrounded by the bracts. Spotted in a coniferous forest.
One awesome thing about this plant is that it launches pollen from its anthers in one of the fastest known plant actions. Each flower has highly elastic petals that can flip backward, releasing the filaments that are cocked underneath the petals. The filaments fling pollen out of containers that hinged to the filaments. The pollen spores are released at 24,000 meters per second and reach an altitude of 2.5 cm, where they can remain suspended until they reach a stigma on another plant.
''Cornus canadensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the Cornaceae family, native to eastern Asia and the Russian Far East), northern USA, Colorado, New Mexico, Canada and Greenland. Unlike its relatives, which are for the most part substantial trees and shrubs, ''C. canadensis'' is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial growing to about 20 cm tall.
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