Gray Dogwood, Cornus racemosa Lam., Native Minnesota Wildflower shrub, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Panicled Dogwood

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Gray Dogwood	Cornus racemosa Lam.	Dogwood	Upland	Early Summer
Other names and notes	(Panicled Dogwood). A shrub, usually not over 6 feet high, forming a thicket, blooming in early summer with pale white 4-part flowers, in loose clusters that are not flat-topped, producing white fruit in the fall that has conspicuous red stalks. Leaves are opposite, entire, stalked, ovate to lance shape and taper to a pointed tip. Stems are smooth and gray. In the Upland Garden it has been considered a plant that needs to be controlled by the periodic prairie burn. Propagation is by seedlings planted before early summer. There are four Dogwoods in the Garden. All have similar looking flowers. An identification key is presented below these photos.


Above: Fruit of late September with the conspicuous red fruit stalks.

Above: Typical leaf with stalk and pointed tip	Above: Grayish bark color on mature twigs and stems.

Above and Below Left: Flowers of mid-June to late June	Above Right: Green fruit of early August.

Dogwood Species	C. racemosa	C. obliqua	C. alternifolia	C. sericea
Common Name	Gray Dogwood	Pale Dogwood	Pagoda Dogwood	Red Osier Dogwood
Alternate Name	Panicled Dogwood	Silky Dogwood	Alternate-leaf Dogwood
Height & Size	to 6' forming a thicket	3 to10'shrub	to 30' small tree	to 9' in thickets
Flowers	All four dogwoods have small 4-part white flowers that are borne in branching clusters.
Flower cluster	nearly as high as wide and NOT flat topped	Flat-topped, flower stalks silky (hairy)	Flat-topped, mostly at the ends of branches	Flat-topped
Bloom period	mid- to late June	late May to June	Late May to mid-June	Early May onwards.
Leaves	Opposite, entire, stalked, oval to lance shape, pale under	Opposite, entire, stalked, ovate to oval shape, taper at both ends, pale under	Alternate, entire, stalked, broadly oval, rounded base, taper at tip. Glossy green above, form clusters at end of branches	Opposite, entire, stalked, oval to lance shaped, 5 to 7 pairs of veins, whitish under.
Branches	Gray, smooth	Purplish	Greenish, smooth	Younger branches reddish in fall, winter and spring
Fruit	White with conspicuous red stalks	dark blue	dark blue	white to lead
Native Status	Native	Native	Native	Native

Notes: This plant is indigenous to the Garden area. Eloise Butler catalogued it on April 29, 1907. This plant was listed on Martha Crone's 1951 inventory of plants in the Garden at that time (listed as Panicled Dogwood). It adapts to a wide range of habitat and is native throughout Minnesota except the far SW and the NE corner.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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