Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Cornales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/8/20):
Benthamidia florida
FAMILY
Cornaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Flowering Dogwood at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cornus florida
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH New England Wildflower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae (Haines, 2011)
Benthamidia florida
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 142-01-001:
Cornus florida FAMILY Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cynoxylon floridum
COMMON NAME:
Flowering Dogwood
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p45
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_818
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_cyfl7_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm0401c_30
January Pickens County SC
Roadside
Twigs with stalked terminal buds and a jointed appearance, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow jkm160330_167
March Pickens County SC
How could anyone let a dogwood be swallowed up by English Ivy?
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JK Marlow jkm230331_2263
March Spartanburg County SC
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Roxanna Martin rlm32111_20
March Spartanburg County SC
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cornus_florida
March
Most laymen erroneously think that the showy white bracts are petals, per Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962).
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JK Marlow jkm0004b_05a
April Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm170430_452
April Greenville County SC
Hypanthium appressed-hairy, completely adnate to ovary; sepals 0.5-0.8mm, per Flora of North America.
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Roxanna Martin rlm4311_125
April Spartanburg County SC
Its true flowers are clustered in the center of white petal-like bracts, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
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Roxanna Martin rlm4711_101
April Spartanburg County SC
Flowers bisexual, yellowish-green, about 1/4" across, with 4 petals, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_florida_4_27_06_1
April
Cornus leaves have pinnate veins that curve to run parallel with leaf margins, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_040421atlanta06
April Fulton County GA
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_040421atlanta07
April Fulton County GA
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_040421atlanta11
April Fulton County GA
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Steve Marlow snm040819_7174
April Greenville County SC
Lakeside Park
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Steve Marlow snm090412_030
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
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Steve Marlow snm140519_105
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
A silky thread is present when the leaves are pulled apart lengthwise, per www.missouriplants.com (Tenaglia).
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JK Marlow jkm120913_750
September Greenville County SC
Clusters of egg-shaped red berries feed a diverse group of wildlife, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).
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JK Marlow jkm120913_750b
September Greenville County SC
Remnants of other floral parts still visible at the top of the inferior ovary.
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JK Marlow jkm120913_756
September Greenville County SC
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Paul Thompson pstcornus_florida
September?
Note the glaucous bloom on young stems and leaf undersides. — Clemson Extension
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JK Marlow jkm201016_7783
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow s061021_b
October Greenville County SC
Autumn foliage crimson to purple, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_101022Hayesville19ed
October Clay County NC
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_101022Hayesville20ed
October Clay County NC
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_florida_1_bark
December Floyd County GA
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/8/20):
Benthamidia florida
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cornus florida
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
New England Wildflower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae (Haines, 2011)
Benthamidia florida
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 142-01-001:
Cornus florida
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cynoxylon floridum
384
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: In a wide variety of dry to moist forests and woodlands, especially over acidic substrates, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring
4 white or pink bracts surround a cluster of yellowish flowers
Bisexual
4-merous
4 petals
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p065
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p285
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p020
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p186
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p091
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p100
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p112
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p166
- The Sibley Guide to Trees (Sibley, 2009) p356
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p092
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p142
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p171
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p19
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p235
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p112