Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Cornus sanguinea

Family

Cornaceae

Flowering season

June to July

English distribution

It is found throughout the country except for parts of the

North and the far Southwest.

For a map see the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland –

Dogwood

Habitat

It grows on calcareous soils in scrub, hedges and woodland.

It is widely planted in gardens, parks and amenity areas, and

is also used to form shelter belts.

Description

Dogwood is a native deciduous shrub growing up to 4m.

Flowers are in flat umbels up to 4cm.

Individual flowers are up to 1cm across with 4 creamy white petals,

4 cream stamens and a longish thick green style. The style

becomes club-shaped clavate towards the top and the stigma

is capitate.

The disk is cushiony and there is a ring of nectaries at the base

on the style.

The 4 sepals are green small.

Fruits are green drupes which turn black in late summer.

Leaves are opposite, ovate, up to 8cm and heavily veined.

They are paler on the underside and darken in the summer.

They turn purple in the autumn.

Young twigs are purple on the sunny side and green on the

other side. Some are purple on both sides.

The main branches are green.