Cornacea (dogwood family)

Question 1

Key features:

Answer 1

• Generally oppositely arranged leaves with arcurate (curved or bowed) veins.
• infloresenes usually in cymes, corymbs, panicles, or heads with 4 (sometimes 5) parts
• fruit generally a drupe (sometimes a berry)

Question 2

Why “dogwood”?

Answer 2

• Some say it originated in colonial era when people said the fruit was edible but not fit for a dog!
• The wood is very hard (Cornus is derived for greek word for “horn”, “cornu”.
• could have been derived from Celtic word dag, Wooden daage was a pointed tool used to make weaving shuttles and golf club heads

Question 3

3 most widely dispersed dagwood species in MN?

Answer 3

Gray dogwood (cornus racemosa), redosier dogwood (cornus sericea), pagoda dogwood (cornus alternifoilia)

Question 4

Two cornus species with “extra” showy flowers?

Answer 4

Flowering dogwood & bunchberry/creeping dogwood

Question 5

What’s wrong with calling the extra showy flowers flowers?

Answer 5

They’re technically the bracts

Question 6

What’s it mean the the redosier dogwood is an “incubator?”

Answer 6

Provides a safe environment for less desirable trees, shrubs, and vines to grow

Question 7

Whats the big limitation use of pagoda or alternate leaved dogwood in the landscape?

Answer 7

Susceptible to golden canker disease renders the tree to a short life