Plant of the Week 6: Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Regarded as one of the most spectacular North American trees, the Flowering Dogwood is marveled for many reasons including its showy spring flowers, bright red berries, and vibrant fall foliage. Graceful, spreading branches reach 20 to 30 feet tall and wide at maturity, creating a rounded or pyramidal crown. Historically, Native Americans have used different parts of this tree for a variety of purposes. Weaving shuttles were crafted from the shock-resistant wood and a toothpaste substitute was made from small twigs and powdered bark. It is the state tree of both Virginia and Missouri, as well as the state flower of Virginia and North Carolina.
While known for having magnificent flowers in spring from April to May, the actual flower this dogwood produces is quite insignificant. The true flower is small, button shaped, and green or greenish-yellow. The large white “petals” are actually bracts, which are modified leaves, used to attract pollinators to the small flowers. In the landscape, there may be bracts that are pink; this is cultivated. Flowers are a good source of pollen and nectar for a variety of pollinators.
Pollinated flowers will turn into a cluster of drupes (berries) that are a bright, shiny red. These berries are inedible (potentially poisonous) to humans but are a valuable food source to many species of song and game birds as well as several mammals. They are visible in late summer through early fall, usually August to October, but may persist longer.
Leaves are oval, green to dark green, and unlobed. Dogwood leaves are high in calcium, which is an essential nutrient for plants and animals. Fallen leaves from flowering dogwoods are beneficial to wildlife and can decompose quickly, allowing the calcium to reenter the soil. In the fall, flowering dogwood leaves are stunning and turn colorful shades of red, maroon, and purple.
Flowering Dogwood’s red autumn foliage contrasts nicely with the yellow from an Eastern Redbud tree.
Cornus florida is fairly common across Maryland and Virginia. Its native habitat includes woodland edges, river banks, deciduous forests, dry uplands, and open woodlands. Look for Flowering Dogwood at Lake Needwood and Blockhouse Point Conservation Park, although it can probably be found at almost every natural area in the DMV region. It is also common in suburban areas, parks, and along streets.
There are many uses in the landscape for this lovely small tree. It can be utilized as a shade tree, specimen, along a patio, or in the understory of a wooded area. A non-native fungus, the Dogwood Anthracnose, has spread across the Flowering Dogwoods native range and has caused serious losses.
