Cornus florida
flowering dogwood, virginia dogwood
Family
Cornaceae
Leaf Arrangement
opposite
Leaf Attachment
petiolate
Leaf Margin
entire
Leaf Type
simple
Leaf Shape
elliptic, obovate, ovate
Growth Form
shrub, tree
Flower Color
pink, white
Flower Petals
4
Flower Month
March - October
Height (meters)
5.0 - 15.0
Milky Sap
No
Armed/Unarmed
Unarmed
Origin
native
Lifespan
perennial
Leaf Retention
Deciduous
Wetland Class
FACU
Wetland Coefficient of Conservatism
6
Field Characters
A small tree with opposite leaves and red fruits. If can be identified by its onion-shaped terminal flower buds. To identify a member of the genus Cornus gently pull the leaf in half and if it is a dogwood the veins will remain intact producing thin thread-like strands between the two halves.
Animal Use
Dogwood berries are a favorite fall and winter food of deer, wild turkeys, gray squirrels, and many species of songbirds.
Habitat
Thickets, streams, river banks, shaded woods, deciduous woods, thickets, bluffs, wooded edges, dry uplands, ravines, acidic woods.