Common Name: Round-Leaved Dogwood

General Information

Cornus rugosa is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 3 metres tall from a rhizomatous rootstock. It produces solitary, erect stems at intervals of 50 - 100cm[].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

Eastern N. America - Manitoba to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, south to Iowa, Tennessee and Virginia

Habitat

Wooded slopes, forests, stream banks, lake shores; at elevations up to 2,000 metres[]. Dry woods and rocky slopes[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	2.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Cornus rugosa is a very cold-hardy tree, tolerating temperatures down to around -25°c when dormant.
Succeeds in full sun or light shade[[]. An easily grown plant, it succeeds in any soil of good or moderate fertility[], ranging from acid to shallow chalk[]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Succeeds in poorly drained soils[].
Plants commence flowering when about 100cm tall[].
A very ornamental[] and free-flowering plant[].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[].

Edible Uses

The pale blue, globose fruit is 5 - 8mm in diamater, the thin layer of flesh enclosing a single, large seed[]. We have seen no reports of this fruit being edible.

Medicinal

The bark is cathartic, febrifuge and tonic[, ].

A decoction of the roots has been used in the treatment of kidney complaints and TB[].

The plant (part not specified) is used in homeopathy to treat conditions such as chronic malaria, hepatitis, jaundice; weakness in morning; pain in pit of stomach, with distended abdomen; vesicular eruption associated with chronic liver disease or aphthous stomatitis[].

Other Uses

None known

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[].