Summary ³

Cornus alternifolia is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to southern Manitoba and Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Mississippi. It is rare in the southern United States. It is commonly known as green osier, alternate-leaved dogwood, and pagoda dogwood.

Description ⁴

Family:
Cornaceae (Dogwood)

Height:
12 to 25 feet

Habit:
Multiple-stemmed shrub; Single-stemmed small understory tree with layered, horizontal branching

Leaves:
Alternate, oval leaves with parallel veins, growing up to 4.5 inches long and 2.5 inches wide. Edges are smooth.

Bark:
Smooth, gray

Flower:
Small white or cream 4-petaled flowers (up to 0.25 inches across) form clusters

Fruit:
A green, single-seeded berry-like fruit (drupe), turns dark blue. Held on a red stalk in clusters.

Bloom time:
May-June

Fall color:
Red

Nicknames:
Alternate-leaved Dogwood

Habitat:
Small, understory tree found in deciduous and mixed forests

Wildlife Benefits:
Flowers are attractive to bees, wasps, flies, and butterflies. Seeds are a food source for birds.

Notes:
Pagoda dogwood is a tree that is commonly planted in landscapes because of its unique tiered appearance. Because it is an understory tree, it performs best in shade.

This species is the only variety of Dogwood (Cornus spp.) in Minnesota that has alternately attached leaves, hence its common name.

References:
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/pagoda-dogwood
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/al_dogwood.htm

Range ⁴

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Dan Mullen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/8583446@N05/3597361778
2. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, all rights reserved, uploaded by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District
3. Adapted by Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus_alternifolia
4. (c) Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalistAU taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

iNaturalistAU Map