roughleaf dogwood (Nash Prairie Plants List)

roughleaf dogwood

Cornus drummondii

Summary ³

Cornus drummondii, commonly known as the roughleaf dogwood, is a small deciduous tree that is native primarily to the Great Plains and Midwestern regions of the United States. It is also found around the Mississippi River. It is uncommon in the wild, and is mostly found around forest borders. The roughleaf dogwood is used as a buffer strip around parking lots, in the median of highways and near the decks and patios of homes. It can...

Comments ⁴

Rough-Leaved Dogwood occurs primarily in the Midwest and the south-central states. It has rough pubescent leaves and bright white drupes; the latter disappear rapidly during the fall because of their attractiveness to wildlife. During the late spring or early summer, Rough-Leaved Dogwood produces cymes of flowers that are quite showy; they appear after the leaves have developed. An older scientific name for this species is Cornus asperifolia, which accounts for the common name. Other Cornus spp. (Dogwoods) can be distinguished from Rough-Leaved Dogwood by the shape of their leaves (more broad or more narrow), number of paired veins on each leaf, and/or color of their drupes (sometimes blue or red). Their leaves and young branchlets are usually less pubescent than those of Rough-Leaved Dogwood. Return

Description ⁵

This native woody plant is a shrub or small tree up to 20' tall with ascending to spreading branches. A large specimen has a trunk with grey bark. This bark is covered with rough flattened scales that are taller than wide. The thin grey bark of branches is often covered with scattered small bumps. Young branchlets and twigs are reddish brown and pubescent. The opposite leaves are up to 5" long and 2" across; they are ovate and smooth along their margins. The upper surface of each leaf is green, rough-textured, and sparingly covered with fine appressed hairs; there are 3-5 pairs of lateral veins that curve toward the outer margins of the leaf. The lower surface of each leaf is whitish green and densely short-pubescent (see photo). At the base of each leaf, there is a slender petiole up to 1" long. Cymes of white flowers develop from the axils of the leaves. Each cyme is about 2-4" across and either gently rounded or flattened at the top. Each white flower is about ¼" across; it has 4 lanceolate petals, 4 stamens, and a pistil with a single style. The blooming period occurs during the late spring or early summer for about 2-3 weeks. The flowers are replaced by white fleshy drupes, which ripen during the late summer or early fall. At this time, the peduncle and pedicels of the corymb become bright scarlet. Each drupe is about ¼" across and globoid in shape; it contains a single stone. The root system normally consists of a woody branching taproot. However, if this woody plant is subjected to disturbance, it may develop suckers or underground runners that send up vegetative shoots. These vegetative shoots can develop into a colony of multistemmed shrubs.

Sources and Credits

(c) Shelly Wu, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Shelly Wu
(c) Conor McMahon, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Conor McMahon
Adapted by Amber Leung from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus_drummondii
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29449808
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29449803

More Info

iNat Map

Family	other
Blooms	April

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