Photograph by Anna Crofts, PhD student at the Université de Sherbrooke

Cornus canadensis, colloquially named bunchberry, illuminated by soft sunshine on a late evening close to solstice. Flowering coincides with midsummer, with four white petal-like bracts encircling a group of small individual flowers. This showy perennial herb is widespread, with its range spanning Canada. Take a moment to look down on your next hike, you’ll most likely observe one (particularly if you are in a forest ecosystem)!

About the photographer: Anna Crofts is a PhD student at the Université de Sherbrooke, whose research applies imaging spectroscopy to examine the organization and functioning of tree communities. From behind the camera lens, she likes to capture the natural history intricacies of plants.