Cornus alternifolia

Alternate Leaf Dogwood

Alternate Leaf Dogwood
Photo courtesy Wisconsin State Herbarium and
Robert W. Freckmann

Flora, fauna, earth, and sky...
The natural history of the northwoods

Name:

• Cornus, from the Latin, cornu, "horn, antler"
• alternifolia, from the Latin, alternus, "alternate", and folius, "leaf"; hence, "alternate leaf"
• Common Name drawing a distinction from the more typical, opposite leaf dogwoods.
• Other common names include Pagoda Dogwood (a misnomer for this native North American species)

Taxonomy:

• Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
  • Division Magnoliophyta, the Angiosperms (flowering plants)
    • Class Magnoliopsida, the Dicotyledons
    • Subclass Rosidae, the Roses
      • Order Cornales, the Dogwoods
        • Family Cornaceae, the Dogwoods
          • Genus Cornus, the Dogwoods
• Taxonomic Serial Number: 27813
• Also known as Swida alternifolia
• Hybridizes with Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)

Description:

• A large shrub or small tree that may reach 25'-30' in height
• Leaves alternate, mainly at the end of the twigs.
• Stem
  • Trunk forks near the ground into several branches that spread horizontally in layers.
  • Bark thin.
• Fruit a berrylike drupe.

Identification:

Distribution:

• Newfoundland through New England to Florida Panhandle, west to the north shore of Lake Superior and eastern Minnesota and south through the Midwest to Arkansas and Mississippi.

Habitat:

• Moist woodlands, along forest margins, on stream and swamp borders, and near deep canyon bottoms.
• Grows best on deep well-drained soils.
• Shade tolerant. Dominant understory shrub in aspen (Populus spp.) forests.

Fire:

• Fire probably top-kills the plant. If the roots or stems survive fire, it may reproduce vegetatively, or it may colonize fire disturbed sites with animal-dispersed seed.

Associates:

• Trees: Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
• Shrubs: Moose Maple (Acer spicatum), Juneberries (Amelanchier canadensis), Dogwoods (Cornus spp.), American Hazel (Corylus americana), Beaked Hazel (Corylus cornuta), Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), Blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium, Vaccinium myrtilloides)
• Herbs:
• Ground Covers:
• Mammals: Black bear eat the fruit. Leaves and stems are eaten by white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, and beavers.
• Birds: Fed upon by at least 11 species of birds including ruffed grouse.

History:

Uses:

Reproduction:

• Reproduces by layering, sprouting from the root crown, and by seed.
• Seed dispersal by gravity and animals.
• Germination delayed due to embryo dormancy.

Propagation:

• By seed, following cold stratification.
• Vegetatively propagated

Cultivation:

• Hardy to USDA Zone 3 (average minimum annual temperature -40ºF)
• An attractive and popular landscape shrub or small tree, generally sold as Pagoda Dogwood, a reference to its shape and not its origins.

Links:

• Fire Effects Information System (FEIS)

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