controversa, have their leaves alternate. Most dogwood species have opposite leaves, while a few, such as Cornus alternifolia and C. ![]() Description ĭogwoods have simple, untoothed leaves with the veins curving distinctively as they approach the leaf margins. This mechanism was usually made from oak or ash (and not from dogwood), and it is unlikely that there is a connection to the name for whipple-tree for Cornus. In this sense it is first recorded in 1733. The name whippletree, also whiffle-tree, now refers to an element of the traction of a horse-drawn cart linking the drawpole of the cart to the harnesses of the horses in file. Middle Dutch wepelen "totter, waver", Frisian wepeln, German wippen. The tree was so named for waving its branches, c.f. This name is cognate with the Middle Low German wipel-bom "cornel", Dutch wepe, weype "cornel" (the wh- in Chaucer is unetymological, the word would have been Middle English wipel). Īn older name of the dogwood in English is whipple-tree, occurring in a list of trees (as whipultre) in Geoffrey Chaucer Canterbury Tales. It is also possible that the tree was named for its berry, called dogberry from at least the 1550s, where the implication could be that the quality of the berry is inferior, as it were "fit for a dog". This is uncertain, as the form *dagwood was never attested. The name was explained, from as early as the 16th century itself, as derived from dag "skewer", as the wood of the tree was said to have been used to make butcher's skewers. ![]() Once the name dogwood was affixed to this kind of tree, it soon acquired a secondary name as the Hound's Tree, while the fruits came to be known as "dogberries" or "houndberries" (the latter a name also for the berries of black nightshade, alluding to Hecate's hounds). The name "dog-tree" entered the English vocabulary before 1548, becoming "dogwood" by 1614. Presumably applied to the cherry after the example of κερασός, the Greek word for "cherry", which itself is of pre-Greek origin but reminiscent of κέρας, the Greek word for "horn". The name cornel dates to the 1550s, via German from Middle Latin cornolium, ultimately from the diminutive cornuculum, of cornum, the Latin word for the cornel cherry. Species include the common dogwood Cornus sanguinea of Eurasia, the widely cultivated flowering dogwood ( Cornus florida) of eastern North America, the Pacific dogwood Cornus nuttallii of western North America, the Kousa dogwood Cornus kousa of eastern Asia, and two low-growing boreal species, the Canadian and Eurasian dwarf cornels (or bunchberries), Cornus canadensis and Cornus suecica respectively.ĭepending on botanical interpretation, the dogwoods are variously divided into one to nine genera or subgenera a broadly inclusive genus Cornus is accepted here.Ĭornus is the Latin word for the cornel tree, Cornus mas. ![]() The various species of dogwood are native throughout much of temperate and boreal Eurasia and North America, with China, Japan, and the southeastern United States being particularly rich in native species. Several species have small heads of inconspicuous flowers surrounded by an involucre of large, typically white petal-like bracts, while others have more open clusters of petal-bearing flowers. ![]() Most are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and some species are evergreen. Promptly remove any suckers to prevent spread.Cornus is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark.Low maintenance, this plant is deer resistant and generally pest and disease free.Perfect as a specimen plant, as a hedge or screen, for cottage gardens.A full sun or part shade lover, this plant is best grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils.Winner of the Gold Medal award of The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and of the Cary Award, which recognizes plants that are particularly adequate for New England, offer superior landscape appeal, are winter hardy, and are pest resistant.Edible, they may be used for syrups and preserves.īushy, this small to medium-sized flowering tree sports oval dark green leaves which turn purple in the fall, before shedding to the ground and revealing the rough, rich brown, exfoliating bark. A tough landscape tree of great beauty. The showy blooms are followed by attractive glossy red, cherry-like fruits in midsummer. In late winter to early spring, a profusion of small rounded clusters of tiny, bright yellow flowers open on the naked branches and will persist for several weeks. Remarkably ornamental and adaptable, Cornus mas (Cornelian Cherry) is a deciduous shrub or small tree providing multiseason interest.
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