CHAPTER 



CORNELIAN CHER 

 NATUKAL FAMILY CORNACE.E. (Dogwood or Cornel.) 



[Name derived from Cornu, a horn, allading to the hardness of the wood. l 

 French, Gom0uiOer ; Dutch, Kvriwelje ; German, Kornd Kirsche ; Italian, Gory 

 nulo; Spanish, Oornqo.] 



GENERAL CHARACTERS. 



The species constituting this genus are mainly deciduous 

 shrubs or small trees. Flowers small, inconspicuous, but 

 in some species they are surrounded by a large and showy 

 involucre, which is sometimes called the flower, as in one 

 of our native species, ( Cornua florida). There is but one 

 known species which produces fruit worthy of our atten- 

 tion. 



f ornilS mascula. Cornelian Cherry. Shrubs growing 

 ten to twenty feet high, with smooth branches; leaves 

 ^sal, acuminate, of a dull green color; flowers small, yel- 

 low, in clusters, produced early in spring, before the leaves ; 

 fruit oblong, about one inch in length and half an inch in 

 diameter ; color bright reddish-scarlet ; flesh firm, slightly 

 juicy when ripe, acid, not particularly agreeable in its raw 

 state ; fruit ripens in September, but remains a long time 

 on the bush, which makes it exceedingly ornamental 

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