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Cornus foemina

Introduction

Cornus foemina is a species of flowering plant in the Cornaceae known by the common names stiff dogwood, stiffcorned dogwood, southern swamp dogwood and english dogwood (though this common name is used for multiple species). It is native to parts of the eastern and southeastern United States.

This plant is a large, deciduous shrub or small tree up to 15 feet tall with trunks up to 4 inches wide. The bark is smooth to shallowly furrowed. The oppositely arranged, deciduous leaves are oval in shape with smooth edges. The inflorescence is a flat-topped cluster of white flowers. The fruit is a blue to purple drupe.

This plant grows in wetlands, often in swampy conditions. It can tolerate moderate amounts of salinity.

Description

Cornus foemina is considered a large shrub to a small tree. It can grow up to 8 meters tall. The trunks of the plant grow up to 10cm in diameter. The stems grow in a clustered arrangement and have bark that is grey to black in coloration. The branchlets are a deep red color unless shaded, in which case they will be green to bronze. Multiple stems sprout from a single rootstock. Lenticiles do not protrude from the trunk(s), but the bark tends to swell between the lenticiles.

The leaves have a petiole length of 5-16mm. The blade has a length of 3.5-11cm and a width of 1-6cm. The leaves have a shape of lanceolate, elliptic, or oblanceolate. Leaves are opposite, with usually 3-4 veins per leaf side. The trichomes are appressed or slightly raised on lower surface of the leaf.

C. foemina flowers in from March to June. The flowers clusters are arranged as scymes with flat tops. The flowers are creamy white, small, and without showy bracts.

The fruits can vary in color from white to blue or purple globose drupes. Flowers are bractless, or have non-showy bracts. The fruits are typically about 5mm in diameter.

Taxonomy

Cornus foemina was first defined within the 8th Edition of the Gardeners Dictionary in 1768.

C. foemina belongs to the kingdom of Plantae (plants), the subkingdom of Tracheobionta (vascular plants), the superdivision of Spermatophyta (seed plants), the division of Magnoliophyta (flowering plants), the class of Magnolipsida (dicotyledons), the subclass of Rosidae, the order of Cornales, the family of Cornaceae Bercht. & J. Presl (dogwood family), the genus of Cornus L. (dogwood), and the species of Cornus foemina Mill. (stiff dogwood).

Distribution and habitat

Cornus foemina is found most readily in the southwest of Northern America. It spreads up the east coast and towards the central portion of the U.S., primarily found along the coastal plain from eastern Virginia to central Florida, west to Louisiana and north to southeastern Missouri.

It tends to grow in swamps, streambeds, marshes, costal plains, and riparian forests. C. foemina grows well in poorly draining soils. Individual plants have the capability to adapt to soil types from clay to sandy.

C. foemina lives as an understory tree and tolerates heavily shaded conditions, but will have more proliferous fruits with additional sunlight. C. foemina has a heliophily rating of 5, so it tolerates shaded and sunny conditions equally well, with a slight preference for sunny conditions.

Ecological Uses

Cornus foemina provides a food source to many animals who reside in wet woodlands. White-tailed deer, cottontails, and beavers browse the leaves.

The fruits of C. foemina are an important food source for birds, especially noted in quail, catbirds, mockingbirds, robins, and brown thrashers. The fruits are eaten by various species of songbirds, ducks, squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons.

The flowers are visited and pollinated by the insect species of Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola, Eumenes fraternus, and Copestylum sexmaculatum.

C. foemina acts as a host to the following moth and fungi species: Phomopsis, Caloptilia Burgessiella (Zeller 1873), Cecrita guttivitta (Walker 1855), Sarcinella pulchra (Sacc.) Seifort 2016

C. foemina provides the ecosystem service of erosion control. It is one of few shrubs that grow well in regularly wet conditions, so it fills the ecological niche by providing a food source and perching location for the animals in the habitat.

Human Uses

Cornus foemina is a useful plant for many landscaping needs, including: rain gardens, drainage swales, areas prone to flooding, lake margins, and stream beds. It is used in these instances because it grows well in wet conditions and can create a barrier that is effective in erosion control while not needing high levels of sunlight to thrive. C. foemina is rarely available in garden landscaping centers despite its usefulness.

Nomenclature

Synonyms of Cornus foemina are as follows: Swida foemina (Mill.) Rydb., Swida stricta (Lam. Small), Thelycrania candidissima Pojark., Thelycrania stricta (Lam.) Pojark., Cornus candidissima Marshall, Cornus citrifolia Lam., Cornus coerulea Meerb, Cornus cyanocarpus J.F.Gmel., Cornus cyanocarpos J.F.Gmel., Cornus fastigiate Michx., Cornus striata DC., Cornus stricta Lam., Cornus stricta L'Hér., Cornus foemina subsp. Foemina, and Cornus cyanocarpos J.F.Gmel.

Cornus foemina P. Miller predates other names and therefore is still considered the standard. It is, however, unclear which plant was intended by the name C. foemina as the description originally provided is very obscure and no type is available. Many scholars disagree with the vagueness of this term and rely upon synonyms as alternatives. No action has been taken in refuting C. foemina, so it still stands as the standard name solely based upon chronology.

Conservation Status

Cornus foemina grows within a limited geographic area (See Distribution and Habitat). Within this domain, it is considered a native plant. The species Cornus foemina is stable its population is considered of least concern by the IUNC Red List. There is no need for, nor is there, any conservation action for the species.