CORNUS 391 



Leaves ovate, li to 2| ins. long, J to i ins. wide (sometimes considerably 

 larger on strong shoots) ; apex slender-pointed ; base tapered or rounded ; 

 dark dull green, both surfaces furnished with centrally attached, flattened 

 hairs ; veins in three to five pairs ; stalk in. or less long. Flowers } in. 

 diameter, yellow, produced in February and March on the leafless stems in 

 short-stalked umbels from the joints of the previous year's wood, each umbel 

 about I in. across, enclosed before opening in four downy, boat-shaped bracts. 

 Fruit a bright red, oblong drupe f in. long, about | in. wide, indented at 

 the apex, of good acid flavour. 



Native of Europe, cultivated for many centuries in Britain. Before the 

 introduction of the Japanese witch hazels the Cornelian cherry was the most 

 effective of yellow-flowering shrubs in bloom as early as February. It is 

 still one of the most valuable we have. As it is without foliage when in bloom, 

 it is a great advantage if it can be associated with some evergreen, such as 

 holly. The fruit is handsome, but not, in my experience, freely borne. The 

 wood, although limited in quantity, has considerable value because of its 

 tough, hard, durable nature. It was formerly, if not now, much used on the 

 Continent for small articles in domestic use. The fruit also used to be made 

 into a rob or preserve. The following varieties are in cultivation : 



Var. AUREA ELEGANTISSIMA. Leaves prettily variegated, having a wide 

 unequal border of yellow, some entirely yellow ; others tinged with pink. 



Var. LANCEOLATA, Kirschner. Leaves smaller, more lance-shaped. 



Var. NANA. Of dwarf, rounded habit. 



Var, VARIEGATA. Similar to aurea elegantissima, but with creamy white 

 variegation. 



Var. XANTHOCARPA. Fruits clear bright yellow. There are also var. 

 FRUCTU VIOLACEO, with presumably purple fruits, and var. ALBOCARPA, with 

 white ones ; but I have not seen them, nor are they likely to be of much interest 

 here, where the tree is shy-fruiting. 



C. OFFICINALIS, Siebold) is very closely allied to C. Mas, and is a Corean 

 species occasionally seen in gardens. It has the same yellow flowers and red 

 fruits, but it differs in having in addition to the flat hairs attached by their 

 centres, conspicuous patches of dense, rusty-coloured down beneath the leaves, 

 in and near the vein-axils. It has also two additional (five to seven) pairs of 

 veins to each leaf. When in flower it is not distinguishable from C. Mas, 

 except that the habit is perhaps coarser. It is occasionally 30 ft. high in 

 Japan. 



C. NUTTALLII, Audubon. 

 (Bot. Mag., t 8311.) 



A deciduous tree up to 50 ft. high, rarely 80 to 100 ft. in a wild state, but 

 often a shrub ; young shoots minutely downy, becoming smooth. Leaves 

 oval or obovate, tapered at the base, short-pointed, 3 to 5 ins. long, i^- to 3 ins. 

 wide ; downy on both sides, especially beneath ; veins in five or six pairs ; 

 stalk j to ^ in. long. Flowers very small, crowded into a dense head f in. 

 across, purple and green ; surrounding them is a whorl of four to eight, 

 commonly six, showy bracts which make what is commonly termed the 

 " flower/' These bracts are roundish oval or obovate, pointed, and from 

 ii to 3 ins. long, i to 2 ins. wide, at first creamy, then white flushed with 

 pink. The flower-head is formed the previous autumn, and is not enclosed by 

 the bracts during winter, as in C. florida, but remains exposed, expanding with 

 the bracts in May. 



Native of Western N. America, where it is one of the most beautiful of 

 flowering trees. In autumn, too, it is said to light up the forest by the yellow 

 and scarlet of its decaying leaves. It is undoubtedly the noblest of the cornels, 



