ROUND LEAVED DOGWOOD

ROUND LEAVED DOGWOOD SHRUB

ROUND LEAVED DOGWOOD BERRIES,,,

...RIPE NOW...

FLOWER HEADS AND DISTINCTIVE LEAVES (Google photo)...

...FALL LEAF COLOR (Google photo)

Thursday, 8:00 AM.  65 degrees F at the ferry dock, 62 on the back porch.  Wind SSW, calm to very light.  The sky is partly cloudy and very hazy, the humidity 87%.  The barometer is mostly steady, now at 29.71".  Today's high will be in the mid-70's, then it will cool off tomorrow, with chances of thunderstorms through the weekend.

   I am continually impressed with the native round leaved dogwood, Cornus rugosa, in the Dogwood Family (Cornaceae).  A tall under story shrub or small tree of deciduous and coniferous forests of the  north, it grows in full sun to semi-shade, and in moderate to dry soil conditions.  It flowers well, has fine orange to pink to red fall leaf color, and interesting, beautiful berries,  now ripe.  The bluish white to lead colored berries, black when fully ripe, are borne on red pedicels which may also bear red, aborted berries, all very pleasingly colorful. When the berries are gone, the red pedicels, which are very decorative, remain.

   Birds love the berries, but you won't, as they have a very nasty taste.

   The genus name is Latin for the dogwood plant, and the species name refers to the rugose, or wrinkled, look of the prominently veined leaves. 

   Round leaved dogwood has opposite leaves and opposite, greenish-maroon colored branches and distinctively veined, entire leaves.

   I have used this shrub more and more in landscaping, and find it beautiful and dependable.