On a stroll through Crooked River Provincial Park in Northern BC, I’ve finally found bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) in full autumn glory.

Before now, I’d only read that the leaves turned burgundy in the fall.

Granted, the color blends in with the soil surrounding it, but the really bright orange of the berries & red of the foliage is striking.

In Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, I’ve found the green leaves yellowing through October.  Why no red coloring?

Perhaps the difference between the weather in northern BC & the West Coast is key.   The northern site had already experienced fall frost.  The southern site hadn’t.  Maybe the burgundy color comes only in reaction to a freeze?

Bunchberry is ‘circumboreal‘. It occurs throughout Canada, as well as in Greenland, Russia & Asia.
It crosses many plant hardiness zones (2-9). It has a huge range.
Let’s compare:
Where have you seen the leaves turning burgundy?

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See also:

• Bunchberry
• Bunchberry sightings