Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) [ Trees > Hardwoods > Understory Trees . . . ] Forest Types: Multiple
by Michael Kuo Habitat: Understory tree typically mixed with other hardwoods; growing east of the Great Plains. Stature: Rarely 40 feet high; to 1 foot in diameter; spreading and bush-like. Leaves: 3-6 inches long; pointed-oval; simple; toothless; with prominent veins that arise from the lower two-thirds of the central vein; bright green above; pale green below (scarlet in fall). Bark: Dark reddish brown; when mature broken into distinctive, squarish plates. Flowers: Inconspicuous, but surrounded by four large white bracts (often construed as a "flower"); fruits in clusters, reminiscent of pointy green olives, becoming scarlet with maturity. Expanded treatment of this tree can be found at our companion site, midwestnaturalist.com, here. Frequent Mushroom Associates: Since flowering dogwood is an understory tree in a variety of eastern forests, many mushrooms appear in its vicinity; whether these are mycorrhizal with the dogwoods or the canopy trees is up for grabs. I frequently find Daedaleopsis confragosa on the wood of flowering dogwood. |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2005, August). Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/trees/cornus_florida.html |