Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida L.

Other common names: Cornus, American dogwood, Virginia dogwood, Florida dogwood, American cornelian tree, flowering corner, Florida cornel, white cornel, Indian arrowwood, nature's-mistake.

Habitat and range: Dogwood occurs in woods from southern Maine and southern Ontario to Florida, Texas, and Missouri, but grows most abundantly in the Middle Atlantic States.

Description: The dogwood sometimes grows to a height of 40 feet, but more frequently is a shrub. In the early spring the naked, leafless branches support numerous large, showy white flowers, so-called. The four showy parts of these "flowers" are petallike bracts which surround the true flowers, which are small, greenish-yellow, and inconspicuous. The leaves, which develop after the flowers have disappeared, turn a bright red in autumn, and this with the scarlet fruit makes the tree very attractive at that time of the year.

Part used: The bark of the root, collected in autumn.