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Cornus florida Linnaeus

Common names: flowering dogwood.
Synonyms: Cynoxylon floridum (Linnaeus) Rafinesque ex B.D. Jackson.
Family: Cornaceae.

Brief description:
Flowering dogwood is the state "flower" of North Carolina and several other states. The "flower" referred to, however, is really a cluster of small flowers (each no more than one-quarter inch across and greenish) that has four large white showy bracts (modified leaves) around it--so the North Carolina state "flower" is really an "inflorescence" (a group of flowers). Each flower produces a red fruit that is rich in calories and an important source of energy for migrating birds in the fall. Dogwood leaves are opposite, unlobed, simple, and entire (no teeth or jagged cuts on the edge), with veins that curve to parallel the leaf edge. The leaves turn a pale to dark purple red in the fall. Dogwoods grow both in shady forests and in the open sunlight--they tend to have more flowers with more sun and also it is in the sun that they are most resistant to a new disease, dogwood anthracnose, that was accidentally imported from Asia.

USDA Profile

Herbarium sheet images:
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Live specimen images:

• Branchlet with leaves • Individual leaf • Branchlet with leaf buds • Close-up of leaf bud • Branchlet with flower buds • Close-up of flower bud • Flowers • Close-up of flowers • Branchlet with fruits • Close-up of fruits •

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