mountain dogwood

Cornus nuttalli

Family: Comaceae.

Type: Deciduous small tree or shrub.

Branching: Opposite.

Leaves: Upper surface fairly dark, lower surface has prominent veins. Veins arch away from the central midrib like a candelabra. If the leaf is gently pulled in two (bend it back and forth first to develop a break), white stringy fibers will be visible, a useful identifying trait.

Twig: Twigs are green (or at least greenish), particularly on the underside of the stem; other dogwoods have much redder stems.

Fruit & Flower: Fruit is a cluster of drupes. Flowers are actually small, reduced clusters in the center of what is ordinarily considered the flower; the large white "petals" are actually a leaflike bract around the inflorescence.

Miscellaneous: Found in moist coniferous forests and some riparian areas. Mountain dogwood is very shade-tolerant. It can resprout from its roots after fire, but does not survive fire in general; its prevalence in sites such as Calaveras now is due to fire suppression.





All photos and text ©2008 Ben Haller. Permission is granted to use and reproduce these photos for any non-commercial or non-profit use as long as this original copyright notice is retained.