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DOGWOOD 



{Cornus florida L.) 



•THE dogwood, sometimes referred to in books as 

 flowering dogwood, is found growing throughout 

 the State, usually under the larger forest trees. It 

 is a small tree, usually 15 to 30 feet high and 6 to 12 

 inches in diameter, occasionally larger, with a rather 

 flat and spreading crown and short, often crooked 

 trunk. The bark is reddish brown to black and 



broken up into small 

 4-sided scaly blocks. 

 The leaves are op- 

 posite, ovate, 3 to 5 

 inches long, 2 to 3 

 inches wide, pointed, 

 entire or wavy on 

 the margin, bright 

 green above, pale 

 green or grayish 

 beneath. 



The flowers, which 

 unfold from the con- 

 spicuous, round, 

 grayish, winter flow- 

 er buds before the 

 leaves come out, 

 are small, greenish 

 yellow, arranged in 

 dense heads s u r- 

 rounded b y large 

 white or rarely pink- 

 ish petal-like bracts, 

 which give th'e ap- 

 pearance of large spreading flowers 2 to 4 inches 

 across. 



The fruit is a bright scarlet "berry," one-half an 

 inch long and containing a hard nutlet in which are 

 1 or 2 seeds. Usually several fruits, or "berries," 

 are contained in one head. They are relished by 

 birds, squirrels and other animals. 



The wood is hard, heavy, strong, very close- 

 grained, brown to red in color. It is in great de- 

 mand for cotton-mill machinery, turnery handles 

 and forms. One other tree has quite similar wood 

 — the persimmon. 



The dogwood, with its masses of early spring flow- 

 ers, its dark-red autumn foliage and its bright-red 

 berries, is probably our most ornamental native tree. 

 It should be used much more extensively in road- 

 side and ornamental planting. 



73 



DOGWOOD 



Leaf, one-half natural size. 



Twig, two-thirds natural size. 



