Virginia State Flower
Flowering Dogwood (common name) Cornus florida (scientific name) Overview The flowering dogwood, known to most people simply as the dogwood, is one of America's most popular ornamental trees. The structure of the "flower" is unusual. Around 20 tiny, greenish-yellow flowers, each with four petals, are produced in a dense, round flower-head. This is surrounded by four large white, pink or red bracts that resemble petals. These broad, rounded false petals often have a distinctive notch at the tip. The flowers are bisexual.  The wood of dogwood is very hard and is used in the manufacture of commercial loom shuttles and spindles. In the past its bark was also used in the production of inks and scarlet dyes and as a quinine substitute. Because of its thin bark, flowering dogwood is readily injured by fire and flooding. Many species of birds rely on the dogwood as a food source, but they seldom use it as a nesting site. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Duration: Perennial Plant: Tree Mature Height: 15–30 ft (9 m–4.6 m) tall and 15–35 ft (4.6–10.7 m) wide. Flowering: Early April in the southern part of its range, to late April or early May in northern and high altitude areas Flowers: 0.4–0.8 in (1–2 cm) diameter, petals 0.2 in (4 mm) long, surrounding "petals" 1.1 in (3 cm) long and 1 in (2.5 cm) wide Flower Color: White, yellow, pink, or red Leaves: Large, dark green, pointed oval leaves Fruit/Seed Color: Bright red, half-inch (1.3 cm) long, football-shaped fruit HABITAT Location: moist, well-drained, fertile areas and mixed hardwood forests or the edges of pine forests. Range: Eastern North America, from southern Maine in the east to eastern Kansas in the west, and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. TRIVIA The dogwood’s bark has many traditional medicinal properties as a stimulant, astringent, and disinfectant. It is used as a tonic for fevers, stomach ailments, ulcers, and menstrual pain and as a poultice for anthrax and skin infections like erysipelas. Dogwood berries are consumed by many birds, which are important in distributing the seeds to new locations. They are poinsonous to people, however. The tree’s wood is hard and was valued by early European settlers, who used it to make household and garden tools.
	Click to enlarge an image Flowering Dogwood Flowering Dogwood Tree Close-up of Flowering Dogwood Flowering Dogwood Seeds CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Tracheobionta Superdivision: Spermatophyta Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Subclass: Caryophyllidae Order: Cornales Family: Cornaceae Genus: Cornus Species: C. florida
	Author: World Trade Press