Cornus is also the Latin name for cornelian cherry. Genus name comes from the Latin word cornu meaning horn in probable reference to the strength and density of the wood. Fruits mature in late summer to early fall and may persist until late in the year. Bright red fruits are bitter and inedible to humans (some authors say poisonous) but are loved by birds. Oval, dark green leaves (3-6” long) turn attractive shades of red in fall. However, each flower cluster is surrounded by four showy, white, petal-like bracts which open flat, giving the appearance of a single, large, 3-4” diameter, 4-petaled, white flower. The true dogwood flowers are actually tiny, yellowish green and insignificant, being compacted into button-like clusters.
It blooms in early spring (April) shortly after, but usually overlapping, the bloom period of the redbuds. It is the state tree of Missouri and Virginia. It is native from Maine to southern Ontario to Illinois to Kansas south to Florida, Texas and Mexico.
It arguably may be the most beautiful of the native American flowering trees. Cornus florida, commonly known as flowering dogwood, is a small deciduous tree that typically grows 15-30’ tall with a low-branching, broadly-pyramidal but somewhat flat-topped habit.
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