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| Figure 50.—Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) |
Habitat and range.—Dogwood occurs in woods from southern Maine and southern Ontario to Florida, Texas, and Missouri, but grows most abundantly in the Middle Atlantic States.
Description. The dogwood sometimes grows to a height of 40 feet, but more frequently is a shrub. In the early spring the naked, leafless branches support numerous large, showy white flowers, so-called. The four showy parts of these "flowers" are petallike bracts which surround the true flowers, which are small, greenish-yellow, and inconspicuous. The leaves, which develop after the flowers have disappeared, turn a bright red in autumn, and this with the scarlet fruit makes the tree very attractive at that time of the year.
Part used.—The bark of the root, collected in autumn.