Cornus alternifolia

Last updated

Cornus alternifolia
Cornus alternifolia - Krauss.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Cornales
Family: Cornaceae
Genus: Cornus
Subgenus: Cornus subg. Mesomora
Species:
C. alternifolia
Binomial name
Cornus alternifolia
Cornus alternifolia range map 1.png
Natural range

Cornus alternifolia is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to southern Manitoba and Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Mississippi. It is rare in the southern United States. [2] It is commonly known as green osier, [3] alternate-leaved dogwood, [4] and pagoda dogwood. [3] [5]

Contents

Description

It is a small deciduous shrub or tree growing to 25 feet (8 m) (rarely 30 feet (9 m)) tall, with a trunk up to 6 inches (152 mm) in diameter. The branches develop characteristic horizontal layers separated by gaps, with a flat-topped crown. Its leaves are elliptic to ovate and grow to 2–5 inches (5–13 cm) long and 1–2 inches (25–51 mm) broad, arranged alternately on the stems, not in opposite pairs typical of the majority of Cornus species. The leaves are most often arranged in crowded clusters around the ends of the twigs and appear almost whorled. The upper sides of the leaves are smooth and green, while the undersides are hairy and a bluish color. The bark is colored gray to brown, becoming ridged as it ages. Small cream colored flowers are produced, with four small petals. The flowers are grouped into cymes, with the inflorescences 2–5 inches (5–13 cm) across. It bears berries with a blackish blue color.

Habitat

C. alternifolia is found under open deciduous trees, as well as along the margins of forests and swamps. These trees prefer moist, well drained soil. [7]

Seedlings are shade-tolerant and it is often found as an understory tree in mature forests, such as those dominated by Acer saccharum (sugar maple) or Populus (aspen). It is also common in younger forests. [7]

Ecology

The fruits provide food for at least eleven species of birds and the black bear. The leaves and bark are eaten by white-tailed deer, beaver, and cottontail rabbit. [7] It additionally has been marked as a pollinator plant, supporting and attracting bees, flies, and butterflies. It is a host plant for butterflies, providing food during their larval stage. [8]

Use

The tree is regarded as attractive because of its wide-spreading shelving branches and flat-topped head, and is often used in ornamental plantings. The flower clusters have no great white involucre as have those of the flowering dogwood, and the fruit is dark purple instead of red.

The cultivar 'Argentea' [9] (silver pagoda dogwood) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017). [10]

C. alternifolia is susceptible to golden canker ( Cryptodiaporthe corni ), particularly when drought-stressed or heat-stressed. Proper siting of the plant in partial to full shade, along with adequate mulch and water, will reduce the incidence of this pathogen. [11]

Cornus alternifolia has been used in the traditional Chinese medicine as tonic, analgesic, and diuretic. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cornus florida</i> Species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae

Cornus florida, the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida and west to the Mississippi River. The tree is commonly planted as an ornamental in residential and public areas because of its showy bracts and interesting bark structure.

<i>Viburnum lentago</i> Species of flowering plant

Viburnum lentago, the nannyberry, sheepberry, or sweet viburnum, is a species of Viburnum native to North America.

<i>Nyssa sylvatica</i> Species of tree

Nyssa sylvatica, commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and eastern Texas, as well as Mexico.

<i>Ptelea trifoliata</i> Species of tree

Ptelea trifoliata, commonly known as common hoptree, wafer ash, stinking ash, and skunk bush, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family (Rutaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a deciduous shrub or tree, with alternate, trifoliate leaves.

<i>Cornus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the dogwood family Cornaceae

Cornus is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and some species are evergreen. Several species have small heads of inconspicuous flowers surrounded by an involucre of large, typically white petal-like bracts, while others have more open clusters of petal-bearing flowers. The various species of dogwood are native throughout much of temperate and boreal Eurasia and North America, with China, Japan, and the southeastern United States being particularly rich in native species.

<i>Cercis canadensis</i> Species of tree

Cercis canadensis, the eastern redbud, is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, west to New Mexico. Species thrive as far west as California and as far north as southern Ontario. It is the state tree of Oklahoma. The prevalence of the so-called "Columbus strain" has seen the residents of Columbus, Wisconsin embrace the plant into their city's identity. Known as the "Redbud City," the town hosts "Redbud Day" annually the Saturday before Mother's Day, organizing a variety of themed events to recognize the tree.

<i>Platanus occidentalis</i> Species of plant

Platanus occidentalis, also known as American sycamore, American planetree, western plane, occidental plane, buttonwood, and water beech, is a species of Platanus native to the eastern and central United States, the mountains of northeastern Mexico, extreme southern Ontario, and possibly extreme southern Quebec. It is usually called sycamore in North America, a name which can refer to other types of trees in other parts of the world. The American sycamore is a long-lived species, typically surviving at least 200 years and likely as long as 500–600 years.

<i>Oxydendrum</i> Genus of trees

Oxydendrum arboreum, the sourwood or sorrel tree, is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois; it is most common in the lower chain of the Appalachian Mountains. The tree is frequently seen as a component of oak-heath forests.

<i>Cornus nuttallii</i> Species of plant

Cornus nuttallii, the Pacific dogwood,western dogwood, or mountain dogwood, is a species of dogwood tree native to western North America. The tree's name used by Hul'q'umi'num'-speaking nations is Kwi’txulhp.

<i>Cornus canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Cornus canadensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern Asia and North America. Common names include Canadian dwarf cornel, Canadian bunchberry, quatre-temps, crackerberry, and creeping dogwood. Unlike its relatives, which are for the most part substantial trees and shrubs, C. canadensis is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial growing to about 20 centimetres tall.

<i>Carpinus caroliniana</i> Species of tree

Carpinus caroliniana, the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood tree in the genus Carpinus. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, musclewood and muscle beech. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and southern Ontario east to Maine, and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. It also grows in Canada. It occurs naturally in shaded areas with moist soil, particularly near the banks of streams or rivers, and is often a natural constituent understory species of the riverine and maritime forests of eastern temperate North America.

<i>Cornus racemosa</i> Species of tree

Cornus racemosa, the northern swamp dogwood, gray dogwood, or panicle dogwood, is a shrubby plant native to southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States. It is a member of the dogwood genus Cornus and the family Cornaceae.

<i>Cornus sericea</i> Species of flowering plant

Cornus sericea, the red osier or red-osier dogwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native to much of North America. It has sometimes been considered a synonym of the Asian species Cornus alba. Other names include red brush, red willow, redstem dogwood, redtwig dogwood, red-rood, American dogwood, creek dogwood, and western dogwood.

<i>Tilia americana</i> Species of tree

Tilia americana is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska. It is the sole representative of its genus in the Western Hemisphere, assuming T. caroliniana is treated as a subspecies or local ecotype of T. americana. Common names include American basswood and American linden.

<i>Rhus integrifolia</i> Species of shrub

Rhus integrifolia, also known as lemonade sumac, lemonade berry, or lemonadeberry, is a shrub to small tree. It is native to the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges and the South Coast regions of Southern California. This extends from Santa Barbara County and the Channel Islands to San Diego County and extending into north-central Pacific coastal Baja California and its offshore islands such as Cedros Island.

<i>Malus coronaria</i> Species of tree

Malus coronaria, also known by the names sweet crabapple or garland crab, is a North American species of Malus (crabapple).

<i>Sorbus americana</i> Species of tree

The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American mountain-ash. It is a deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern North America.

<i>Quercus pagoda</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus pagoda, the cherrybark oak, is one of the most highly valued red oaks in the southern United States. It is larger and better formed than southern red oak and commonly grows on more moist sites. Its strong wood and straight form make it an excellent timber tree. Many wildlife species use its acorns as food, and cherrybark oak makes a fine shade tree. Cherrybark oak was formerly considered to be a subspecies of southern red oak, Quercus falcata, subsp pagodifolia.

<i>Cornus rugosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Cornus rugosa, commonly called roundleaf dogwood or round-leaved dogwood, is a deciduous tree native to northern parts of the eastern and central United States and southern parts of central and eastern Canada.

Cornus obliqua, the blue-fruited dogwood, silky dogwood, or pale dogwood, is a flowering shrub of eastern North America in the dogwood family, Cornaceae. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of Cornus amomum, which is also known as silky dogwood. It was first described in 1820 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. It is in the subgenus Kraniopsis.

References

  1. Stritch, L. (2018). "Cornus alternifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T130047024A130047033. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T130047024A130047033.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Little Jr., Elbert L. (1971). "Cornus Alternifolia Range Map" (PDF). Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps from "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr. (and other publications). United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  3. 1 2 "Cornus alternifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  4. Fewless, Gary (2006). "Cornus alternifolia". Trees of Wisconsin. Herbarium, Cofrin Center for Biodiversity, University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.
  5. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Cornus alternifolia". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
  6. Keeler, Harriet L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 186–189.
  7. 1 2 3 Coladonato, Milo (1994). "Cornus alternifolia". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
  8. "Planting Guides" (PDF). Pollinator.org. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  9. "RHS Plant Selector - Cornus alternifolia 'Argentea'" . Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  10. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 22. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  11. Michelle Grabowski. "Golden Canker on Pagoda Dogwood". University of Minnesota Extension. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  12. Wang, Limei; Waltenberger, Birgit; Pferschy-Wenzig, Eva-Maria; Blunder, Martina; Liu, Xin; Malainer, Clemens; Blazevic, Tina; Schwaiger, Stefan; Rollinger, Judith M; Heiss, Elke H; Schuster, Daniela; Kopp, Brigitte; Bauer, Rudolf; Stuppner, Hermann; Dirsch, Verena M; Atanasov, Atanas G (2014). "Natural product agonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ): A review". Biochemical Pharmacology. 92 (1): 73–89. doi:10.1016/j.bcp.2014.07.018. PMC   4212005 . PMID   25083916.

Further reading

  1. Trees, by Coombes, Allen J., Eyewitness Handbooks[ full citation needed ]