Cornus foemina
stiff dogwood, swamp dogwood, gray dogwood
Family
Cornaceae
Leaf Arrangement
opposite
Leaf Attachment
petiolate
Leaf Margin
entire
Leaf Type
simple
Leaf Shape
elliptic, lanceolate, ovate
Growth Form
shrub, tree
Flower Color
white
Flower Month
April - July
Height (meters)
5.0
Milky Sap
No
Armed/Unarmed
Unarmed
Origin
native
Lifespan
perennial
Leaf Retention
Deciduous
Wetland Class
FACW
Field Characters
A small tree with smooth, simple, opposite leaves with not appressed hairs on their upper surface and white fruits in open clusters. It is similar to roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii) which has appressed hairs on the upper surface of the leaf. 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. Flowers of C. foemina are not showy and are about 1 inch across. The twigs are smooth.
Habitat
Swamps and low wet woodlands, thickets, riverbank forests, swampy to dry low open areas.