Cooperative Living April 2024 - 10

BRANCHING OUT
Flowering
Dogwood
Virginia's state flower and tree
by Steve Carroll, Contributing Columnist
F
Virginia
designated the
flowering dogwood
as the official state
tree in 1956.
lowering dogwood is a small tree that makes a dramatic
and much-admired statement in early spring. The
Virginia Native Plant Society named it their 2018
Flower of the Year, and in " Native Plants of the Southeast, "
author and horticulturist Larry Mellichamp calls dogwood
" the overall most beloved and
planted deciduous tree of the
South. "
Cornus florida is an
important understory,
forest-edge and roadside tree
from southern Maine to
northern Florida, and west to
Michigan, Missouri, eastern
Texas and northeastern Mexico.
It reaches 6 to 8 inches in
diameter, up to 30 feet in
height, and is often wider than
tall. It prefers moist, acidic soil
with afternoon shade, growing
somewhat reluctantly along
hot city streets.
This tree is most striking
in spring when its floral
display complements that of
the eastern redbud. It is easily
recognized from a distance by
its large " flowers. " In truth, its
yellow-green flowers are quite
small, with 20 or more clustered
tightly together. But each flower
cluster is surrounded by four
attractive white (sometimes pink) petal-like structures that
are modified leaves called bracts - and it is these inch- to
inch-and-a-half-long bracts that catch the eye. Due to its early
flowering, dogwood is an important spring nectar source
for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. The leaves, which
emerge with or just after the flowers, are eaten by dozens of
moth and butterfly species.
Dogwood leaves grow in pairs along branches, are 3-6
inches long, and have distinctive veins that curve along the
leaf margin. They add to autumn's color by turning a rich
8 * Cooperative Living * April 2024
red to burgundy. Dogwood's bright-red fruits also ripen
in the fall, and these are prized by songbirds and small
mammals such as chipmunks, foxes and skunks.
Flowering dogwood is most appreciated during
the growing season, but it's also attractive in
winter. At that time, mature trees display dark,
blocky bark; horizontal branches; and the
distinctive, onion-shaped flower buds of next
year's flowers.
Because the wood is hard and heavy, it was used in the
manufacture of golf club heads, mauls, mallets and tool
handles. It was particularly important in the textile industry
in the manufacture of shuttles used in mechanical looms.
Medicinally, the bark was used by Native Americans
throughout the region for
treating malaria. Colonists also
used it, often steeped in whiskey
or other liquids, to treat malaria
and " the shakes. " At one time,
the decorative flower clusters were
widely cut and displayed. This
destructive practice was eventually
stopped, in part by a widespread
poster campaign spearheaded by
the Wild Flower Preservation
Society (a group organized in
1925 in Washington). Today,
dogwood is most widely used and
appreciated as a landscape tree,
with many cultivated varieties
that feature modified bracts,
increased heat tolerance, weeping
branches, resistance to disease
and other characteristics.
If dogwood has a weakness,
it is its susceptibility to dogwood
anthracnose, a fungal disease that
has killed millions of dogwood
since its introduction in the
1970s. Fortunately, if planted
in appropriate habitats with
access to sun and good air circulation, and pruned and cared
for correctly, trees will often grow quite happily. The nursery
trade also now offers anthracnose-resistant cultivars.
Do you have space in your yard for a small tree? Are
you looking for a native species with a four-season appeal?
Flowering dogwood may be just the tree you are looking for.
*
Steve Carroll is a botanist and ecologist who speaks and writes
about trees, gardening and the world of plants. He is the co-author
of " Ecology for Gardeners, " published by Timber Press.
co-opliving.com
PHOTO BY E. KNEPLEY
PHOTO COURTESY VIRGINIA STATE PARKS VIA FLICKR
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living April 2024

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