Cornus Rugosa

Cornus Rugosa

Native

Cornus rugosa is a native, evergreen tree of the western United States and Canada that can grow to 75 feet tall. It is also frequently confused with the genus Cornus, the type species of which is Cornus kousa, also a native of the western United States. It is also known as "Canadian arctic-4-leaf".

Growing your own plants from seed is the most economical way to add natives to your home. Before you get started, one of the most important things to know about the seeds of wild plants is that many have built-in dormancy mechanisms that prevent the seed from germinating. In nature, this prevents a population of plants from germinating all at once, before killing frosts, or in times of drought. To propagate native plants, a gardener must break this dormancy before seed will grow. (Source: www.prairiemoon.com)

Image

Cornus rugosa, or the weeping dogwood, is native to the Eastern United States, where it is found in some areas of Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Its brilliant red flowers emerge in late spring, and its leafless, weeping cherry- or cherry-topped branching stems emerge from the ground in early summer. Considered a long-lived tree, the weeping dogwood has a lifespan of 150 years.

White flowers appear in early summer arranged on flat topped cymes. The flowers themselves are pedunculate with 4 calyx lobes and 4 petals. The cymes are 3–6 cm (1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) wide and contain 20–50 flowers. Fruits are blue to greenish white drupe that matures in October. (Source: en.wikipedia.org)

Fruit

Cornus rugosa, known as the sweet or red cornelian cherry plant is a deep-rooted shrub native to Europe and Asia. It has various uses in traditional medicine and due to its strong fibers has been used to create a durable and beautiful casket traditionally used in death processions.

Cornus rugosa appears to be extirpated from Tennessee (B. E. Wofford, pers. comm.). Putative hybrids in Michigan between C. rugosa and C. racemosa have been called C. ×friedlanderi W. H. Wagner. Putative hybrids between C. rugosa and C. sericea have been called C. ×slavinii Rehder, and reported from Maine, New York, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Wisconsin. (Source: www.efloras.org)