Cornus

Cornus is a genus of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen. Several species have small heads of inconspicuous flowers surrounded by an involucre of large, typically white petal-like bracts, while others have more open clusters of petal-bearing flowers. Many species of dogwood can be found in North America and Eurasia, including North America’s temperate and boreal regions. The most abundant native species are found in China, Japan, and the Southeast United States.

Species include the common dogwood Cornus sanguinea of Eurasia, the widely cultivated flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) of eastern North America, the Pacific dogwood Cornus nuttallii of western North America, the Kousa dogwood Cornus kousa of eastern Asia, and two low-growing boreal species, the Canadian and Eurasian dwarf cornels (or bunchberries), Cornus canadensis and Cornus suecica respectively.

The dogwoods can be divided according to botanical interpretation into one to nine genera, or subgenera. A broadly inclusive genus Cornus has been accepted.

Uses

Dogwoods are widely planted horticulturally, and the dense wood of the larger-stemmed species is valued for certain specialized purposes. This beautiful, fine-grained wood can be used to make cutting boards and other fine turnings. Over 32 different varieties of game birds, including quail, feed on the red seeds.

Horticulture

Various species of Cornus, particularly the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), are ubiquitous in American gardens and landscaping; horticulturist Donald Wyman stated, “There is a dogwood for almost every part of the U.S. except the hottest and driest areas”. In contrast, in England the lack of sharp winters and hot summers makes Cornus florida very shy of flowering.

Another Cornus variety is the stoloniferous shrubs, which grow naturally in wet areas and along waterways. Several of these are used along highways and in naturalizing landscape plantings, especially those species with bright red or bright yellow stems, particularly conspicuous in winter, such as Cornus stolonifera.

The following cultivars, of mixed or uncertain origin, have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017):

Fruits

The species Cornus mas is commonly cultivated in southeastern Europe for its showy, edible berries, that have the color of the carnelian gemstone. Each cornelian-cherry has one seed and is used in syrups or preserves.

Wood

Dense and fine-grained, dogwood timber has a density of 0.79 and is highly prized for making loom shuttles, tool handles, roller skates and other small items that require a very hard and strong wood. Dogwood is not suitable for woodworking but some artisans prefer it for small projects like walking canes and arrow making, mountaindulcimers, fine inlays, and mountain dulcimers. Dogwood wood is an excellent substitute for persimmon wood in the heads of certain golf clubs (“woods”). Dogwood lumber is rare in that it is not readily available with any manufacturer and must be cut down by the person(s) wanting to use it.

Larger items have also been occasionally made of dogwood, such as the screw-in basket-style wine or fruit presses. This wood was also used to make the first laminated tennis rackets.

U.S. pioneers used dogwood twigs to clean their teeth. They would remove the bark and bite the twig to clean their teeth.

Traditional medicine

The bark of Cornus species is rich in tannins and has been used in traditional medicine as a substitute for quinine.^{[clarification needed]} During the American civil war, confederate soldiers made a tea from the bark to treat pain and fevers, and used dogwood leaves in a poultice to cover wounds.^{[unreliable source?]}

The Japanese cornel, C. officinalis, is used in traditional Chinese medicine as shan zhu yu for several minor ailments.