Cornus foemina

Miller

Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Cornus no. 4. 1768.

Common names: Stiff dogwood
Endemic
Synonyms: Cornus stricta Lamarck Swida foemina (Miller) Small S. stricta (Lamarck) Small
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 12. Treatment on page 456. Mentioned on page 451, 457.

Shrubs, to 8 m, flowering at 1.5 m; rhizomes absent. Stems clustered; bark gray-brown, becoming gray-black, corky, appearing braided, splitting longitudinally, checkered; branchlets deep red, often pale green abaxially, or completely green or bronze if shaded, 2 proximal internodes densely pubescent, distal internodes sparsely appressed-hairy; lenticels pale circular spots on new growth, usually more common on distal portion of internodes, often overlapping, localized to form longitudinal bands, splitting periderm but not protruding or extruding tissue on 2d year branches, periderm swelling around them and usually over large contiguous areas; pith white in 1st year branches, tan in older branches. Leaves: petiole 5–16 mm; blade lanceolate, elliptic, or oblanceolate, 3.5–11 × 1–6 cm, base cuneate to rounded, apex abruptly acuminate to an obtuse tip, abaxial surface pale green, adaxial surface dark green, midvein turning red or maroon, both surfaces with hairs appressed, sparse, glabrate by late summer; secondary veins 3–4 per side, evenly spaced, basal vein arising 1–2 mm from blade base. Inflorescences flat-topped, convex, or pyramidal, 2–8 cm diam., peduncle 15–45 mm; branches and pedicels greenish yellow, turning red in fruit. Flowers: hypanthium densely appressed-hairy; sepals 0.4–1 mm; petals cream, 2.6–3.8 mm. Drupes pale blue, violet plumbeous, or blue violet, often turning whitish blue to white, globose or oblate-ellipsoid, 5–6 × 6–10 mm; stone globose to oblong, 3–3.7 × 3.7–5 mm, slightly ribbed, apex rounded.


Phenology: Flowering Mar–Jun; fruiting Aug–Oct.
Habitat: Marshes, swamps, river and stream banks, pocosin margins, interdune swales, wet ditches.
Elevation: 0–1500 m.

Distribution

V12 312-distribution-map.jpg

Ala., Ark., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Md., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.C., Okla., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va.

Discussion

Cornus foemina has a coronulate or minutely papillate abaxial leaf surface, visible under high magnification, like that of C. obliqua and C. racemosa.

Cornus cyanocarpus J. F. Gmelin 1791, a parahomonym (thus illegitimate) of C. cyanocarpa Moench 1785, pertains here.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Cornus foemina"
Zack E. Murrell +  and Derick B. Poindexter +
Miller +
Cornus +
Stiff dogwood +
Ala. +, Ark. +, Del. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Ky. +, La. +, Md. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, N.J. +, N.C. +, Okla. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +  and Va. +
0–1500 m. +
Marshes, swamps, river and stream banks, pocosin margins, interdune swales, wet ditches. +
Flowering Mar–Jun +  and fruiting Aug–Oct. +
Gard. Dict. ed. +
Cornus stricta +, Swida foemina +  and S. stricta +
Cornus foemina +
Cornus subg. Thelycrania +
species +