Description

Leaves: Similar to flowering dogwood, but alternate (clumped on ends of twigs to where they appear whorled) and pubescent beneath; simple; deciduous.

Twigs/buds: Twigs green, red, purple, or dark purple-brown, shiny, and hairless; zigzag as a result of alternate buds.  Flower buds reddish or purplish, mostly hairless at base, but hairy near tip, and 1/4" long; vegetative buds somewhat hairy and smaller.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect; yellowish-white; small, but in 1-1/2" to 2-1/2" bunches.  Fruit a drupe; green at first, maturing blue-black and waxy in August; 1/2" to 1/3" in diameter.

Bark: Reddish-brown, thin, smooth; becoming shallowly ridged over time.

Wood: Unimportant; reddish-brown, close-grained, hard, and heavy.

General: Native to the eastern U.S. and Canada, where it is an understory plant in hardwood forests.  Cultural preferences similar to flowering dogwood.  Shade tolerant.

Landscape Use: Another small dogwood rarely planted in Utah, but worth using in colder areas.  Prefers shady, cool sites.  Not as ornamental in some ways as those described above, though the canopy shape and horizontal branches give it a nice appearance.  Zones 3-7.

Cultivar: 'Argentea', 'Big Chocolate Chip', 'Brunette', 'Gold Bullion', 'Golden Shadows', 'Moonlight', 'Pistachio', 'Saya'.

Characteristics