Dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs with valvate, scaly, and elongated winter buds. Leaves are normally opposite but may be alternate. Leaf margins are entire and have veins that run parallel to the leaf margin. Flowers are white or yellow. The actual flowers are perfect and small; they may have showy bracts. Fruits are drupes.
| I. | Leaves and buds are opposite. Branching is sympodial, and the side buds may take the lead. Leaves are 31/4—6 inches (81/2—15 cm) long. Twigs are green or purple and often have a white bloom. Flower buds are stalked. Flower bracts are showy and either white or pink. The actual flowers are yellow and open in May. Fruit is a red drupe that is borne in clusters and matures between September and November. |
| Cornus florida–Flowering Dogwood | |
| II. | Leaves and buds are alternate. Branching is sympodial, and the side buds may take the lead. Purplish-green branches spread in irregular whorls forming horizontal tiers. Leaves have parallel veins and are 21/2—5 inches (6—13 cm) long. Usually, the leaves are crowded at the end of twigs. Flowers are white, small, and open in May or June. Fruit is a bluish-black drupe that ripens in August. This small tree reaches heights of 25 feet. |
| Cornus alternifolia–Pagoda Dogwood |
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| Pagoda (Alternate-Leafed) Dogwood | ||
Pagoda (Alternate-Leafed) Dogwood–Cornus alternifolia
Alternate-leafed dogwood is a shrub or small tree usually less than 20 feet in height. Pagoda dogwood is found growing in rich soils or along fertile flood plains. It is reported throughout Ohio but is not abundant anywhere. This tree is drought sensitive. The name pagoda dogwood is derived from the horizontal branches that reminded someone of the tiers of a pagoda.
Twigs have smooth, purplish-green bark that has a distinct, bitter taste. Leaves and buds are alternate. Branching is sympodial. The side buds may take the lead, thus forming horizontal tiers of branches in spiral whorls.
Leaves are arranged alternately and clustered at the ends of twigs. Leaves have veins that run parallel to the leaf margins and are 21/2—5 inches (6—13 cm) long. Foliage is smooth, rather shiny above, and has a faint, hairy covering beneath. Leaf margins are entire to undulate.
Flowers are perfect, small, and white, and they open in May or June after the foliage has expanded. Flowers are borne in flat cymes up to 3 inches (71/2 cm) across. Unlike the flowering dogwood, the pagoda dogwood does not have showy bracts. Fruit is a dark, bluish-black drupe with a light bloom and red pedicels. Fruit ripens in August. The fruit is relished by birds, squirrels, and other small mammals and is normally consumed well before fall arrives.
Flowering Dogwood–Cornus florida
The flowering dogwood is found growing mostly in the acid soil regions of the state, usually under the larger forest trees. It is a small tree, usually 15—30 feet high and 6—12 inches in diameter. Occasionally, the tree gets larger with a rather flat-spreading crown and with a short, often crooked, trunk.
The leaves are opposite, ovate, 31/4—6 inches (81/2—15 cm) long, and 2—3 inches (5—71/2 cm) wide. The leaf has a pointed tip and an entire or undulate leaf margin. Foliage is bright green above and pale green or grayish beneath. The veins of the leaves turn and run parallel to the leaf margin, making dogwood leaves easy to identify.
Branching is sympodial, and the side buds may take the lead. This characteristic results in horizontal branching. Twigs are green or purple and often have a white bloom. Flower buds are stalked and conspicuous during the winter months. The bark is reddish-brown to black and broken into small, four-sided, scaly blocks.
The flowers unfold from the round, conspicuous, gray winter flower buds before the leaves come out. The white or pink flower bracts are showy and often thought to be the petals of the flower. The actual flowers are yellow and borne in a central cluster; they open in May. The fruit is a bright scarlet, berrylike drupe that is 1/2 inch (13 mm) long and contains a hard nutlet in which there are one to two seeds. Usually several fruits are contained in one head. The fruit is relished by birds, squirrels, and other animals which often eat the fruit before it colors and matures, usually between September and November.
The dogwood, with its masses of early spring bracts, its dark red autumn foliage, and its bright red berries, is probably our most showy native tree. Numerous named cultivars are available in the nursery trade, although most are not cold-hardy in Ohio. Pink and red "flowered" selections are generally not hardy. Since Ohio is at the northwest limits of flowering dogwood's natural range, Ohioans should use locally adapted seed sources of this showy native. A hardy seed source marketed as 'Richland' is available in the nursery industry.
There is a great deal of concern today about the impact of dogwood anthracnose. This disease is causing trouble in the cloud-forest region of the Allegheny Mountains and along the east coast. It is a more likely concern in Ohio in the lake-effect areas of Ohio. While the Chinese dogwood is resistant to anthracnose, it is less cold-hardy than the native flowering dogwood. The bottom line is that the best showy dogwood is still local seed sources of the native flowering dogwood.
The wood is hard, heavy, strong, very close-grained, and brown to red in color. The wood was revered by the fabric mills for spindles.
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| Flowering Dogwood | |