Trees Planet: Cornus sanguinea

General Information

Common Name	Dogwood
Scientific Name	Cornus sanguinea
Sun Tolerance	Full Sun
Height	2–6 m (7–20 ft)
Spread	2-3 m (7–10 ft)
Growth Rate	Moderate
Bloom Time	Summer
Color	Green, Red
Flower Color	White
Type	Shrub
Native	Europe, western Asia

Classification

Kingdom	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass	Rosidae
Order	Cornales
Family	Cornaceae – Dogwood family
Genus	Cornus L. – dogwood
Species	C. sanguinea

Cornus sanguinea – Dogwood

Cornus sanguinea commonly known as Dogwood or European Dogwood is native to most of Europe and western Asia. It is usually no more than a bush, but it can form a small shrubs tree. It is at home on the very dry chalk escarpment, but likely to be found infrequently on most lime-rich soils, either in isolation or as part of a hedgerow, thicket or game covert. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant.

Its slender blood-red twigs carry the even more slender winter buds. The lower bark is greenish-grey. The opposite leaves are oval, 1-2 in long, with prominent curved veins. They are among the first trees to show leaf – pale green in early March. In autumn they assume the same deep red shade as the twigs.

The small bi-sexual white flowers, which open in June, are in cluster (a corymbs), and have an unpleasant odor. The fleshy parts of the berries are exceedingly bitter and each holds a hard seed.

Dogwood suckers freely and can build up dense thickets. Its white wood, though rarely large, is tough and smooth, and was traditionally used as skewers; the odd name arises from ‘dog’ – a sharp spike.