Cornus L.
Dogwood
The Cornus genus includes dogwoods, shrubs or small trees, as well as bunchberry, only a few inches tall—30-60 species in all, many native to North America. Dogwoods of one species or another are found throughout the continent.
Nobody is entirely certain why it is that dogwoods first came to be known as “dog-trees” in mid-1500s English. “Dog-tree” may not even be the origin of the modern name, which may derive instead from “dagtree,” since its very hard stems were used to make “dags”: daggers, arrows, and skewers.
Identification: Dogwoods have simple leaves with smooth edges, opposite leaves (with the exception of C. alternifolia), and veins which run parallel to the leaf edges. Dogwood flowers are white with four showy petals that are actually bracts—the actual flowers are small and inconspicuous.
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Some dogwood comparisons. |
Online References:
References:
(Cornus) · 6/17/2012 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm) 
Species not yet identified 
(Cornus) · 6/17/2012 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) Species not yet identified 
Siberian dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Bailhalo’) · 6/26/2005 · Stan and Connie’s, Falmouth, Maine 
Canadian dwarf cornel (Cornus canadensis) · 4/19/2010 
Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa ‘Milky Way’) · 9/7/2010 · New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Boylston, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) 
Silky dogwood (Cornus obliqua) · 8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3″ (12 × 8.1 cm) 
Red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea) · 5/29/2010 · Maine Audubon Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 1¾″ (7 × 5 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Cornales | Includes dogwoods, hydrangeas, stickleafs, tupelos, even sillyberries |
| Family | Cornaceae | Dogwood family |
| Genus | Cornus | Latin for “a horn” |
Cornus description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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