Did you know that bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) is the fastest plant in the world? The tiny bunchberry flowers are highly elastic and when tripped by a pollinator or by the wind, will shoot pollen out into the air in half a millisecond. This speedy pollen release gives bunchberry the nickname 'crackerberry' as the flowers explode pollen like a firecracker.

Video shots of a bunchberry flower opening at 10,000 frames per second to capture pollen release. (Image credit: D. Whitaker, M. Laskowski, A. Acosta, J. Edwards.)


Unless otherwise labeled, all photos taken by AMC research staff.

Observed a bunch of bunchberry? Become a community scientist by uploading your observation to this project on iNaturalist. Bunchberry is one of our key species we're investigating to determine if flowering and fruiting times are changing due to increased temperatures in the Appalachian Mountains. To learn more, visit our project page: https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/conservation-and-climate/help-track-flowers-and-fauna-along-the-appalachian-trail-with-inaturalist/