Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion
Appalachian Spring flowering dogwood
Cornus florida
Leaves - Fall- Warren Co., NC. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.◐ Part sun or part shadeCathy DeWitt ↗ · CC BY 4.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Anthracnose-resistant selection developed from a Catoctin survivor; mulch and avoid hot dry exposure.
Trace the curved side veins on a simple leaf. Opposite arrangement and nearly smooth edges narrow the choice.
More growing details
Read the bark
Mature bark breaks into small dark square blocks.
Fruit & seed
Individual glossy red fruits occur in small clusters; they are not the round fused fruit of kousa.
Winter character
Rounded flower buds look like small buttons above paired twigs.
Origin & place
The species occurs naturally in the southern Appalachian region; a planted specimen is not evidence of wild local origin.
Compare with Kousa dogwood
Kousa has pointed showy bracts and round strawberry-like compound fruits; flowering dogwood bracts are typically notched.
WNC Notes
Anthracnose-resistant selection developed from a Catoctin survivor; mulch and avoid hot dry exposure.
Sun Exposure
Morning sun–part shade
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
15–25
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
15–25
BLOOM SEASON
Mid spring
BLOOM COLOR
White bracts
FALL / WINTER COLOR
Red-purple
Wet-Soil Tolerance
Moderate
Drought Tolerance
Low–moderate
LOOK CLOSELY
Two views, a closer look.
Place two photographs beside one another. Compare the overall plant with leaves, flowers, or bark when those views are available. Captions identify what each photograph actually shows. Images are not at the same scale; species references may show different cultivars.
Leaves - Fall- Warren Co., NC. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.◐ Part sun or part shadeCathy DeWitt ↗ · CC BY 4.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Cornus florida berries — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.◐ Part sun or part shadeKristine Paulus ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.Flowering dogwood bark close-up — species reference; named cultivar identity not inferred.◐ Part sun or part shadePhoto by and (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) ↗ · CC BY-SA 2.5Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; original composition retained.
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