Cornus florida
Eastern Dogwood

Cornus florida is a small flowering trees, but we really don’t look at its flower. The delicate petal-like flower parts that we see are really modified leaves called bracts. These leaves surround a cluster of small true flowers. Later, after the flowers are pollinated and fertilized, red berries develop. C. florida is native to Eastern United States.

There are some 30 to 50 species of dogwoods in the world; most are deciduous (they lose their leaves). Many dogwoods offer year-around interest—colorful autumn leaves, red berries in winter, pretty blossoms in the spring and green foliage in the summer.

There are a number of varieties of C. florida to tempt gardeners. Combinations of deep rose to white bracts are available. Some varieties have been bred to be disease resistant as dogwoods tend to be susceptible to fungus and stem canker. This species tend to branch low and have horizontal layers of branches which makes a lovely silhouette in the winter when the leaves are missing.