Gray Dogwood (Cornus foemina)
- Family: Dogwood (Cornaceae)
- Flowering: May-June.
- Field Marks: This is the only wetland dogwood with gray branchlets and blue fruits. The lower surface of the leaves is green and without hairs.
- Habitat: Swamps, low woods, wet open ground.
- Habit: Shrub up to 8 feet tall, much branched.
- Stems: Gray, smooth.
- Leaves: Opposite, simple, lanceolate to elliptic to ovate, pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, without teeth, smooth and green on both surfaces,up to 3 inches long, up to 1 1/4 inches broad.
- Flowers: Several in a round-topped cluster, white.
- Sepals: 4, united, green.
- Petals: 4, free from each other, white.
- Stamens: 4.
- Pistils: 1; style 1; ovary inferior.
- Fruits: Drupes blue, spherical, 1/6-1/4 inch in diameter.
- Notes: This species is usually called stiff dogwood. This species has been confused with C. racemosa and does not occur in the Great Plains.
Previous Species -- Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)
Return to Species List -- Group 5
Next Species -- Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera)