Cornus alba

Tatarian dogwood (Cornus alba)

Called The Tatarian dogwood (Cornus alba), also White Dogwood ( alba = white, tatarica = Tatar ), a flowering plant in the genus Dogwood (Cornus ) within the family of Dogwood ( Cornaceae ).

He is often associated with the Silky Dogwood (Cornus sericea ), which is also called White Dogwood and he looks very similar externally, equated. About the size and shape of the stone cores, the two species differ. Their origin is different.

Description

The Tatarian dogwood is a deciduous, medium tall shrub, reaches the heights of growth from one to four meters. At first, he grows erect wide, at the age the branches are drooping to the ground to prostrate arching. The young shoots are initially slightly hairy and whitish frosted, their bark is purplish - red. Later it will turn red-brown to olive-brown, with scattered gray lenticels. The pith is wide and white.

The Tatarian Dogwood has a near-surface, highly branched root system. It makes little or no rooted suckers.

The opposite, ovate to elliptic leaves are five to nine inches long, two to six inches wide, short acuminate, rounded at the base. From the central axis generally go from five pairs of veins, and the secondary veins are visible. The leaves are slightly hairy whitish, sometimes with long brown hair in the axils of the leaf veins. The autumn colors of the leaves is yellow to orange-red.

The flowering season lasts from May to July. The flowers are quite close in about three to five centimeters wide inflorescences together at the end of the branches. The individual flowers are white to yellowish- white, and measure about six to nine millimeters. Are formed with an elliptical core stone pea-sized, round, white to light blue fruit. The seeds are longer than they are wide, pointed at both ends and is provided at each side with three ribs.

Distribution and location

The home site of the Tatar dogwood ranges from European Russia to Siberia and Manchuria and North Korea.

The Tatarian dogwood grows in sunny to partially shaded sites; He also tolerates shade, but then falls apart in habit. He prefers to grow on moist soil, where it develops a strong tendency to spread. The Tatarian dogwood is very hardy.

Use

The Tatarian dogwood is often used as an ornamental shrub. Ornamental work, especially the colored shoots in winter. Every few years, should the old branches for the purpose of new shoots are cut back to just above the ground, as the shoots are brown with age. There are several varieties available, are frequently offered:

• 'Aurea ': Leaves light green to yellow- green colored.
• ' Gouchaultii ': leaf margin yellow, even pink in bud or white
• ' Elegantissima ' ( syn. ' Argenteomarginata '): with cream edged leaves.
• ' Kesselringii ': This variety has tight upright basic drives that are little branched. The bark is dark brown.
• ' Siberian ': medium-high and erect growing in youth, later wider and looser structure, about 3m high and wide. If on, especially in winter by the bright red color of the shoots.
• ' Siberian Variegata': With irregular white margin.

The seeds contain up to 30% oil.

System

This species was described already in 1767 by Carl Linnaeus. Synonyms are Cornus alba tatarica million and Swida (L.) Opiz. Their closest relatives are Cornus pumila and Silky Dogwood (Cornus sericea ). This similarity has led to the fact that there are several synonyms that actually belong to the Silky Dogwood.

Swell

• Andreas Roloff, Andreas Bärtels: woody plants. Determination of origin and areas of life, properties and use ( = garden flora. 1). Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart ( Hohenheim) 2006, ISBN 3-8001-3479-9.
• Eckhart J. Jäger, Klaus Werner ( eds.): Excursion Flora of Germany. Founded by Werner Roth painter. 10, revised edition. Volume 4: Vascular Plants: Critical band, Elsevier, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Munich / Heidelberg 2005, ISBN 3-8274-1496-2.
• Xiang, Q.-Y., Boufford, D. E. (2005): Cornus alba. In: Wu, Z.Y., Raven, P.H. (Eds.): Flora of China. 14:206 ff Missouri Botanical Garden Press.