Cornus obliqua Raf.
Narrowleaf dogwood, silky dogwood, swamp dogwood
Kingdom Plantae Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom Tracheobionta Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division Magnoliophyta Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class Magnoliopsida Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass Asteridae A large class that encompasses asters
Order Cornales Includes dogwoods, hydrangeas, stickleafs, tupelos, even sillyberries
Family Cornaceae Dogwood family
Genus Cornus Latin for “a horn”
Species obliqua Latin for “slanting”
About plant names...
Narrowleaf dogwood is native to eastern and central North America.
Identification: These dogwoods are multiply branched shrubs up to
12′ (3.7 m) high. Branch bark is highly variable in color: gray, brown, reddish brown, red, or yellow-brown.
Young twigs have fine hairs; mature branches have vertical lenticels .
Leaves are opposite , on stems up to ½″ (1.5 cm) long. Leaves are deeply veined on the back, up to
4″ (10 cm) × 1¼″ (3.5 cm) in size, oval with pointed tips, somewhat narrower than other dogwood
leaves. They turn deep red or maroon in the fall. Flowers bloom from May to June, and are yellowish-white.
The berries are, well, if you ask me, awesome. First, they're colorful: they go from green to white to light
blue to deep blue. It is the light blue phase that I like best—they have a sheen that actually looks metallic.
Online References:
The Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
Illinois Wildflowers
The Missouri Botanical Garden
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
References:
Petrides, George A., Peterson Field Guides: Trees and Shrubs , Houghton Mifflin Co., 1972 , p. 77, 106
Symonds, George W.D., Shrub Identification Book , HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1963 , p. 98
8/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)
9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain
9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain
9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain
9/10/2021 · Crystal Spring Farm, Blueberry Loop, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9 cm)
8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)
8/27/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)
Older scientific or horticultural names
Cornus amomum Mill. ssp. obliqua (Raf.) J.S. Wilson
Cornus amomum Mill. var. schuetzeana (C.A. Mey.) Rickett
Cornus purpusii Koehne
Swida amomum (Mill.) Small var. schuetzeana (C.A. Mey.) A.Haines
Cornus obliqua description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 13 Sep 2021.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm)
8/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm)
8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)
7/29/2023 · By Jacquelyn Boyt
9/10/2021 · Crystal Spring Farm, Blueberry Loop, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3″ (12 × 8.4 cm)
8/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm)
8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm)
7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)
8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)
Range: Zones 4-8:
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