Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 231 



DOGWOOD FAMILY (Cornaceae). 



FLOWERING DOGWOOD (Cornus florida) is a tall 

 shrub or tree, ranging in height from 7 to 40 feet. It 

 is in reality outside the scope of this book, as we do 

 not aim to include shrubs or trees, but Dogwood is 

 so conspicuous in flower and so closely related to the 

 following species, that it has been included. The 

 large handsome flowers are in full bloom before or 

 just as the leaves commence to appear. So profuse- 

 ly do the large white, flowers, measuring 2 to 4 

 inches across, cover the whole tree that the appear- 

 ance, from a little distance, is as though the tree were 

 mantled with snow. 



The four, large, notched segments are not petals, but 

 form the involucre and the real flowers are clustered 

 at the center; they have four tiny greenish-white pet- 

 als and numerous little stamens. This Dogwood is 

 common in dry woods from Me. to Minn, and south 

 to the Gulf. 



BUNCHBERRY; DWARF CORNEL (Cornus can- 

 adensis) is really a dwarf as compared to the preced- 

 ing, for it grows only from 4 to 8 inches high. 



The stem is leafless except at the top, at which 

 point, four to six leaves radiate; they are ovate-point- 

 ed, shining yellow-green and have five or more deep, 

 parallel ribs. They usually grow in colonies, often so 

 closely together that the leaves overlap and obscure 

 the ground. 



What appears like a singled large blossom seated 

 almost within the whorl of leaves, is in reality a clus- 

 ter of tiny, green-petalled, 4-parted flowers surround- 

 ed by four large greenish-white bracts; these pointed 

 outer divisions form what is termed the involucre of 

 the flowers. 



In Pall a cluster of scarlet berries takes the place 

 of the flowers, so the plant is attractive at all sea- 

 sons. It ranges from Labrador to Alaska south to 

 N. J., Ind. and Minn. 



