Mexican populations of Cornus florida sometimes have been treated as Cornus urbinia Rose or Cornus florida subsp. urbinia (Rose) Rickett, distinguished primarily by bract size, shape, and apical cohesion following expansion. North American and Mexican populations overlap in these characters and are treated here as a single taxon[]

Common Name: Flowering Dogwood

General Information

Cornus florida is a tall shrub or a deciduous tree with a wide-spreading crown; it usually grows 3 - 6 metres tall, though specimens up to 20 metres tall with a bole 45cm in diameter have been recorded. The plant often forms a cluster of stems - these are occasionally decumbent and form roots at the leaf nodes[, , ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials, possibly also as a food. It is sometimes used in soil reclamation projects. Cornus florida is considered to be one of the more beautiful, very profusely flowering, deciduous ornamental plants and is widely grown in gardens[].

Known Hazards

There is a report that the fruit is poisonous for humans[].

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Eastern N. America - Ontario to Maine, south to northern Mexico, Texas and Florida.

Habitat

Rich well-drained soils in acidic woods; at elevations up to 1,500 metres[, ]. An understorey tree in dry deciduous, mixed, and pine forests; at elevations up to 2,000 metres[, , ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	6.00 m
Growth Rate	Medium
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Cornus florida is very cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -25°c when dormant. although the flowers and young growth in spring are subject to damage by late frosts. The plant grows best in areas with warm or hot summers in order to fully ripen its wood - in cool summer areas the wood can be damaged in the winter even if the weather is mild[, ].
Succeeds in full sun or light shade[[]. An easily grown plant, it prefers an organically rich, acidic soil but succeeds in any soil of good or moderate fertility[, ], ranging from acid to shallow chalk[]. The plant dislikes shallow clay soils and chalky soils according to other reports[, ]. Requires a neutral to acid soil according to another report[]. Prefers a rich loamy well-drained soil[]. Roots will often rot if the plant is grown in poorly-drained soils[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7[]. Established plants are moderately drought tolerant[].
Plants can be trained to grow against a wall when they prefer a position in light shade[].
The plant benefits from a 10 - 15cm deep mulch of organic matter, which will help to keep the roots cool and moist in hot weather[].
The plant can be difficult to transplant. Seedlings with a root ball are preferred over bareroot transplants; plants at the beginning of the third growing season are generally best suited for transplanting[].
Medium to fast growing when young, but slowing with age[]. Trees are short-lived[].
Plants commence flowering when around 6 years old and 200cm tall[, ].
Cornus florida, the state tree of Missouri and Virginia and the state flower of North Carolina, is an understory tree that can form spectacular displays when flowering. Cultivars with pink to red bracts are often planted as ornamentals[].
A very ornamental plant, there are many named varieties[, ]. It is the state flower of Virginia[].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - cooked. One report says that the fruit is poisonous for humans[], whilst another says that it is not poisonous, but is almost inedible raw[]. When the seed is removed and the flesh is mashed, it can be mixed with other fruits and made into jams, jellies etc[]. The fruit, when infused in 'Eau de Vie' makes a bitter but acceptable drink[]. The fruit is usually red, rarely yellow, drying black, 13 - 18mm long and 6 - 9mm in diameter, with a thin flesh enclosing a large, single seed[]. The fruit is borne in clusters, each fruit being up to 15mm in diameter with a thin mealy bitter flesh[].

Medicinal

Flowering dogwood was employed medicinally by a number of native North American Indian tribes who valued it especially for its astringent and antiperiodic properties[]. It is little used in modern herbalism.

The dried root-bark is antiperiodic, astringent, diaphoretic, mildly stimulant and tonic[, , , , ]. The flowers are said to have similar properties[]. A tea or tincture of the astringent root bark has been used as a quinine substitute to treat malaria[, , ] and also in the treatment of chronic diarrhoea[]. The bark has also been used as a poultice on external ulcers, wounds etc[, ]. The glycoside 'cornin' found in the bark has astringent properties[].

The inner bark was boiled and the tea drunk to reduce fevers and to restore a lost voice[, ].

A compound infusion of the bark and the root has been used in the treatment of various childhood diseases such as measles and worms[]. It was often used in the form of a bath[].

The fruits are used as a bitter digestive tonic[]. A tincture of them has been used to restore tone to the stomach in cases of alcoholism[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Flowering dogwood has been planted on strip-mined lands in Indiana and also grows as volunteers on surface-mined lands in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma[].

Other Uses

A red dye is obtained from the fibrous root[, , ].

The fruit is high in lipids, containing up to 35% by dry weight[].

The peeled twigs are used as toothbrushes, they are good for whitening the teeth[, , ]. The juice from the twigs preserves and hardens the gums[]. The twigs can also be chewed to make natural paintbrushes[].

A black ink can be made from the bark mixed with gum arabic and iron sulphate[].

The bark is very bitter, could it be used to make an insect or bird repellent[]?

The brownish wood is hard, heavy, strong, close grained, durable, takes a good polish and is extremely shock-resistant. It weighs 51lb per cubic foot. An excellent raw material for the manufacture of small articles, it is used for making wheel hubs, tool handles, the heads of golf clubs, bearings, turnery etc[, , , , , , , ]. The
wood is occasionally used to make specialty items such as golf club heads, turnery, roller-skate wheels, jeweler's blocks, knitting needles, and woodcut blocks[].
The wood makes a good fuel and is used to make charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame or in an outdoors seedbed if there is sufficient seed[, ]. The seed must be separated from the fruit flesh since this contains germination inhibitors[, ]. Stored seed should be cold stratified for 3 - 4 months and sown as early as possible in the year[]. Scarification may also help as may a period of warm stratification before the cold stratification[, ]. Germination, especially of stored seed, can be very slow, taking 18 months or more[]. Prick out the seedlings of cold-frame sown seeds into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow the plants on for their first winter in a greenhouse, planting out in the spring after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe side shoots, mid summer in a frame[].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, taken with a heel if possible, autumn in a cold frame. High percentage[].
Layering of new growth in early summer/July. Takes 9 months[].