Cornus racemosa

Cornus racemosa, Illustration from L' Héritiers Cornus: specimen botanicum ... there as Cornus paniculata

The plant species Cornus racemosa, of the genus dogwood (Cornus ) in the family of Dogwood ( Cornaceae ), growing as deciduous shrub in the northeastern part of North America. There he is called " Gray Dogwood ".

Description

It is a shrub that reaches the plant height of one and a half to four meters, in exceptional cases up to eight meters. Its branches are branched ascending and strong, young shoots are red - brown in color, older gray. From the roots enjoy numerous offshoots, so that at suitable locations extensive thickets may arise.

The leaves are six to ten inches long, and on opposite sides. The foliation is the beginning of April, the leaf fall in late October. The autumn color is a dark crimson.

The yellowish- white flowers are in cymes, flowering time is from about May to July. The flower stems are green, they turn bright red to fruit maturity. The white stone fruit contains a single more or less spherical stone core. The fruit is spread primarily by birds, but also different mammals they eat. The fruits ripen about August to October.

Dissemination

The home of Cornus racemosa is the north-eastern North America, as in a band south of the Great Lakes, from the coast of Maine and New York until the beginning of the prairies.

It grows there on different sites, in open meadows and forest clearings, along streams, roadsides and forest edges. He is not so much tied to moist soil as similar North American Dogwood, Silky Dogwood about the (Cornus sericea ).

Cornus racemosa is associated with the diverse tree species of North American forests, especially oak, hickory, maples and the American linden tree. He's there very often in the understory, along with Viburnum acerifolium and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia ).

Use

In the natural range one uses the rapid growth and rooting foothills to avoid soil erosion. In Europe, Cornus racemosa is rarely commercially available.