RED TWIGGED DOGWOOD IS BLOOMING

RED TWIGGED DOGWOOD SHRUB...

...UMBELS OF SMALL WHITE FLOWERS...

...BLOOD-RED YOUNG TWIGS AND OPPOSITE LEAVES AND BRANCHES

Thursday 7:30 AM, Duluth.  64 degrees F, wind and waters calm.  The sky is mostly overcast but clearing.  I should be going home today, after a stay in the hospital due to pacemaker issues.

   The photos of the native red twigged dogwood,  Cornus stolonifera, in the Dogwood Family, were taken a week ago last Monday, so they should still be in bloom.  It is a shrub common to much of North America, and is usually found in damp places, the edge of streams and lakes, and roadside ditches.  It is used in landscaping because of its blood-red young twigs, but as its species name indicates it spreads by stolens, and can become very invasive in the small landscape. It also has good, deep purple  fall leaf color. There are varieties that spread less easily, and those are probably better used for landscaping purposes.  The dogwood species in general are interesting and colorful trees and shrubs and many should be used more for ornamental purposes.  Almost all dogwood species have opposite leaves and branches and this is a good clue to use in their identification.  

   Many dogwood species and varieties are of European or Oriental derivation, including popular variegated varieties of Cornus alba, so if one wishes to use only native plants in a landscape many dogwoods are not appropriate.
   For more information on dogwoods, use the blog search engine.