Dogwood
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 European Cornel (Cornus mas) | ||||||||||||
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| Cornus Benthamidia |
The Dogwoods comprise a group of 30-50 species of deciduous woody plants (shrubs and trees) in the family Cornaceae, divided into one to nine genera or subgenera (depending on botanical interpretation). Four subgenera are enumerated here.
Types of Dogwood
- Flower clusters semi-showy, usually white or yellow, in cymes without large showy bracts, fruit red, blue or white:
- (Sub)genus Cornus. Cornels; four species of shrubs or small trees; flower clusters with a deciduous involucre.
- Cornus chinensis (Chinese Cornel). China.
- Cornus mas (European Cornel or Cornelian-cherry). Mediterranean.
- Cornus officinalis (Japanese Cornel). Japan.
- Cornus sessilis (Blackfruit Cornel). California.
- (Sub)genus Cornus. Cornels; four species of shrubs or small trees; flower clusters with a deciduous involucre.
- (Sub)genus Swida. Dogwoods; about 20-30 species of shrubs; flower clusters without an involucre.
- Cornus alba (Swida alba; Siberian Dogwood). Siberia and northern China.
- Cornus alternifolia (Swida alternifolia; Pagoda Dogwood or Alternate-leaf Dogwood). Eastern North America north to extreme southeast Canada.
- Cornus amomum (Swida amomum; Silky Dogwood). Eastern U.S. east of the Great Plains except for deep south, and extreme southeast Canada.
- Cornus asperifolia (Swida asperifolia; Rough-leaf Dogwood).
- Cornus austrosinensis (Swida austrosinensis; South China Dogwood). East Asia.
- Cornus bretschneideri (Swida bretschneideri; Bretschneider's Dogwood). Northern China.
- Cornus controversa (Swida controversa; Table Dogwood). East Asia.
- Cornus coreana (Swida coreana; Korean Dogwood). Northeast Asia.
- Cornus drummondii (Swida drummondii; Roughleaf Dogwood). U.S. between the Appalachian belt and the Great Plains, and southern Ontario.
- Cornus foemina (Stiff Dogwood) Southeastern, Southern, and Eastern United States.
- Cornus glabrata (Swida glabrata; Brown Dogwood or Smooth Dogwood). Western North America.
- Cornus hemsleyi (Swida hemsleyi; Hemsley's Dogwood). Southwest China.
- Cornus koehneana (Swida koehneana; Koehne's Dogwood). Southwest China.
- Cornus macrophylla (Swida macrophylla; Large-leafed Dogwood). East Asia.
- Cornus obliqua (Swida obliqua; Pale Dogwood). Eastern North America.
- Cornus paucinervis (Swida paucinervis). China.
- Cornus racemosa (Swida racemosa; Northern Swamp Dogwood or Gray Dogwood). Extreme southeast Canada and northeast U.S.
- Cornus rugosa (Swida rugosa; Round-leaf Dogwood). Southeast Canada and extreme northeast U.S.
- Cornus sanguinea (Swida sanguinea; Common Dogwood). Europe.
- Cornus sericea (C. stolonifera; Swida stolonifera; Red Osier Dogwood). Northern North America.
- Cornus stricta (Swida stricta; Southern Swamp Dogwood). Southeast U.S.
- Cornus walteri (Swida walteri; Walter's Dogwood). Central China.
- Cornus wilsoniana (Swida wilsoniana; Wilson's Dogwood). Central China.
- (Sub)genus Swida. Dogwoods; about 20-30 species of shrubs; flower clusters without an involucre.
- Flower clusters inconspicuous, usually greenish, surrounded by large, showy petal-like brac
ts; fruit usually red:
- (Sub)genus Chamaepericlymenum. Bunchberries or Dwarf cornels; two species of creeping subshrubs growing from woody stolons.
- Cornus canadensis (Chamaepericlymenum canadense; Canadian Dwarf Cornel or Bunchberry) Northern North America.
- Cornus suecica (Chamaepericlymenum suecicum; Eurasian Dwarf Cornel or Bunchberry). Northern Eurasia, locally in extreme northeast and northwest North America.
- Cornus × unalaschkensis (hybrid C. canadensis × C. suecica). Aleutian Islands, Greenland, Labrador.
- (Sub)genus Chamaepericlymenum. Bunchberries or Dwarf cornels; two species of creeping subshrubs growing from woody stolons.
- (Sub)genus Benthamidia (syn. subgenus Dendrobenthamia, subgenus Cynoxylon). Flowering dogwoods; five species of trees.
- Cornus capitata (Benthamidia capitata; Himalayan Flowering Dogwood). Himalaya.
- Cornus florida (Benthamidia florida; Flowering Dogwood). U.S. east of the Great Plains, north to southern Ontario.
- Cornus hongkongensis (Benthamidia hongkongensis; Hongkong Dogwood). Southern China, Laos, Vietnam.
- Cornus kousa (Benthamidia kousa; Kousa Dogwood). Japan and (as subsp. chinensis) central and northern China.
- Cornus nuttallii (Benthamidia nuttallii; Pacific Dogwood). Western North America from British Columbia to California.
- (Sub)genus Benthamidia (syn. subgenus Dendrobenthamia, subgenus Cynoxylon). Flowering dogwoods; five species of trees.
Characteristics of Dogwood
Most species have opposite leaves, but alternate in a few. The fruit of all species is a drupe with one or two seeds. Flowers have four parts.
Many species in subgenus Swida are stoloniferous shrubs, growing along waterways. Several of these are used for naturalizing landscape plantings, especially the species with bright red or bright yellow stems. Most of the species in subgenus Benthamidia are small trees used as ornamental plants.
The fruit of several species in the subgenera Cornus and Benthamidia is edible, though without much flavour. The berries of those in subgenus Swida are mildly toxic to people, though readily eaten by birds. Dogwoods are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Emperor Moth, The Engrailed, Small Angle Shades and the following case-bearers of the genus Coleophora: C. ahenella, C. salicivorella (recorded on Cornus canadensis), C. albiantennaella, C. cornella and C. cornivorella (The latter three feed exclusively on Cornus).
Dogwood in Government Insignia
Numerous varities of Dogwood are represented in the insignia of U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
The inflorescence of Pacific Dogwood is the official flower of the Canadian province of British Columbia
The Dogwood (Cornus florida) and its inflorescence are the state tree and the state flower respectively for the U.S. State of Virginia. It is also the state tree for Missouri, and the state flower for North Carolina.
Etymology and Other meanings
The word dogwood comes from dagwood, from the use of the slender stems of very hard wood for making 'dags' (daggers, skewers). The wood was also highly prized for making the shuttles of looms, for tool handles, and other small items that required a very hard and strong wood.
In botany and in colloquial use, the term dogwood winter may be used to describe a cold snap in spring.
The Fable of the Dogwood
There is a Christian fable that the cross used to crucify Jesus was constructed of Dogwood. As the fable goes, during the time of Jesus, the Dogwood was larger and stronger than it is today. After his crucifixion, Jesus changed the plant to its current form: he shortened it and twisted its branches as to assure an end to the use of the plant for the construction of crosses, and he transformed its inflorescence into the form of his crucifixion itself. That form is recognized by the flower petals, which are said to represent the four corners of the cross; the red stamen of the flower, which is to represent Jesus' crown of thorns; and the clustered fruit, that represent his blood.
However, this is just a fable that has been cobbled together over a long period of time. It is unlikely to have any truth to it for the following reasons: the modern Dogwood is typically too small and twisted in trunk and branch for such a task; there is no evidence indicating that Dogwoods had larger, firmer or stronger trunks and branches during the time of Christ; and, an evolution of the Dogwood from one to the other over a mere thousand years is unheard of in evolutionary science. Furthermore, the Bible does not specify what type of wood was used to construct the cross of Jesus, and there is no indication within Roman records and histories of the materials used in cross construction[1]. Since there is no Biblical, historical, archaeological or scientific evidence of this story, it is likely to be inaccurate. The origin of this fable is not known.