Let’s Have a Look at the Flowering Dogwood

IS THERE anyone whose spirit is not uplifted by seeing the blossoming trees of springtime? One of the prettiest is the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida).

Dogwood grows in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, and one type thrives in Peru. The flowering dogwood is found over a wide range of the eastern United States. In fact, it flourishes from Florida to southern Canada and westward to Kansas and Oklahoma. It is a bushy tree, seldom reaching more than forty feet (12 meters) in height. The dogwood is often found growing under the taller trees in the woodlands. There are some forty kinds of dogwood, fourteen of which grow in the United States.

But, why the name “dogwood”? The origin of the name is uncertain and sources tend to disagree about the beginning of its use. We do know, however, that in England during the early seventeenth century a diluted decoction made from the bark of the European species (Cornus sanguinea) was used to wash mangy dogs and for treating dog bites. That may account for the name “dogwood.”

The bark of the flowering dogwood contains the same substances found in the cinchona tree, though in different proportions. As you may know, the cinchona tree is the source of quinine. From the days of the Spanish explorers in South America, its value for reducing fever has been well known. During the Civil War in the United States, however, the bark of the dogwood tree was employed in making a tonic used in treating wounded and sick soldiers. It was used both for fever and as an antiseptic.

A Beauty Linked with Legend

Yet, the famous blossom is the thing that most people think of when you mention the name “dogwood.” it is a beautiful flower. Its petals are called bracts because, technically, they are not petals. The true flower of the dogwood is the cluster of tiny yellow blossoms gracefully surrounded by white or pink bracts. These bracts are notched with rust-colored touches at the tip. This rusty touch has given rise to a legend.

According to that legend, Jesus Christ was impaled on a dogwood tree. Because of his compassion for the dogwood and so that it would no longer be used as an instrument of impalement, Jesus decreed that it should become a smaller tree and that its petals should bear the marks of the nailprints in his hands. This, says tradition, resulted in the rust-colored touches around the notches in the bracts. So prominent has this legend become that it is the only thing many people think of when they see the dogwood today. But remember, this is only fictitious tradition. The Bible says nothing of the sort.

Both Useful and Pretty

In making the dogwood, the Creator produced not only a pretty tree but quite a useful one. In addition to the antipyretic use of its bark, the American colonists found the dogwood’s hard, heavy and close-grained wood excellent for tool handles, shuttle blocks for weaving, engraver’s blocks and bearings, as well as charcoal for gunpowder. They made a good black ink by mixing dogwood bark with sulfate of iron. Sufferers from intermitting fevers dosed themselves with a medicine brewed from the bark, and they even used the twigs for brushing their teeth! The colonists made furniture from the trunks and lower branches and warmed themselves before fires fueled with the smaller limbs. The leaves were used as fodder for cattle, and are quite rich in calcium. Moreover, the colonists knew that the Indians colored their blankets and belts with a scarlet dye derived from the root bark of the dogwood.

Would you like to have a flowering dogwood in your yard so that you can enjoy its beauty all year around? Besides purchasing a nursery specimen, a person can graft dogwoods, grow them from cuttings or plant the seed and await the sprout. The bright-red fruit, or drupes, which ripen in the autumn when the trees are a brilliant scarlet, are both decorative and useful, as they contain two seeds. These seeds should be soaked overnight in rainwater and the outer covering peeled off before planting. Dogwoods grow readily from cuttings of the mature wood, and they have been grafted in North America since 1731. The faint pink and the deep red grafted together produce a stunning effect at the height of the blooming season.

Some Helpful Hints

Dogwoods are equally at home in the full sun or in the shade of larger trees. However, they seem to bloom more beautifully in full sunlight. They adapt to almost every variety of soil, from good to very poor. Nursery specimens actually are easy to plant. But do not fertilize them, as this can kill them. They must be planted shallow and kept well watered and well mulched, especially during the first summer. A piece of chicken wire placed around the little tree will protect it from men and machines until it becomes larger and less vulnerable.

At the height of the blooming season, you may want to bring some dogwood indoors to beautify the interior of your home. Here is a tip that will make the blossoms last longer and stay fresher looking: split the stems and peel back an inch or two. Then plunge them at once into hot, but not boiling, water for a minute. This stops the capillary action and will prolong the fresh look, as will daily changing of the water in the flower container.

With its horizontal branches and colorful foliage, the dogwood is quite striking in appearance and, understandably, has been chosen by both Virginia and North Carolina as their state flower. It is also the provincial flower of British Columbia, Canada, and the state tree of Missouri. ‘The dogwood is a delight to use in landscaping either a small yard or an industrial park. But to many of us, the dogwood is a beautiful tribute to Jehovah God, who created all the vegetation on the earth that makes life so pleasant for mankind.