Common Name(s): | Flowering Dogwood, Dogwood,Flowering |
Scientific Name: | Cornus florida |
Family: | Cornaceae |
Longevity: | Perennial |
Season: | Cool |
Origin: | Native |
Height: | 12 |
Flowers: | March - April |
Fruits: | Fall |
Description: A small understory tree with a spreading, irregular crown. Common in bottomlands and moist upland soils. The leaves, when gently pulled apart (split in two), demonstrate a silk-like venation similar to a spider's web. The flowers are subtended by large, showy, white, petal-like bracts, commonly mistaken as the flower. Fruits are red, maturing in the fall. The bark is rough, broken into small square blocks. Often planted as an ornamental because of its showy bracts in the spring and fall foliage. The fruit is eaten by birds, and it may be used as browse by white-tailed deer and some livestock. |