Scientific name: Cornus florida
Family: Cornaceae (Dogwood family)
Flowering dogwood is found throughout all of Ohio and the entire eastern half of the United States, it is one of the most popular ornamental trees, with four-season appeal. Showy early spring flowers are the yearly highlight, but red fruits and crimson foliage in autumn, large floral buds and checkered bark in winter, and year-round layered branching add to its appeal. Flowering dogwood can be a tricky plant to grow in a landscape setting. It is commonly found growing in woodland margins.
Identification
LEAF: Veins curve from the base of the leaf to the tip. Leaves are opposite, simple, oval to ovate, and dull green from above. The fall color is red to reddish purple.
TWIGS AND BUDS: The bud is biscuit-shaped, glabrous and flattened, gray-green, at branch ends, and covered by 2 large silky scales
FLOWER: The true flowers at the center, are green and insignificant, but are surrounded by 4 petal-like 2-inch long bracts, notched at the ends, that are often mistaken for the actual flowers.
FRUIT OR SEED: Fruit is a glossy bright, shiny red, oval drupe (0.5″) in tight clusters of 3 or 4 that are bitter and inedible to humans but loved by birds. They display from August to October.
BARK: Attractive, dark gray, brown, or black bark that is broken into small scaly blocks as the tree matures.
SHAPE: Round and pyramidal shape.
MATURE HEIGHT: 15-25 feet.
Information credits: ODNR, NC State Extension.
Photo credits: Derek Ramsey, Chris Light, Plant Image Library (Creative Commons License).
Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum 