''Cornus controversa'' (wedding cake tree), syn. ''Swida controversa'', is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 shrub ...

'' of the dogwood

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cornaceae The Cornaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Cornales. The family contains approximately 85 species in two genera, ''Alangium'' and ''Cornus''. They are mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen, alt ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to China, Korea, the Himalayas and Japan. It is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing to , with multiple tiered branches. Flat panicles of white flowers (cymes to wide) appear in summer, followed by globose black fruit (drupes to ). Ovate dark green leaves ( long) are glaucous underneath and turn red-purple in autumn. It is cultivated in gardens and parks in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

regions. It is also sometimes referred to as ''Bothrocaryum controversum'' when seeds are offered for online sale. The variety ''C. controversa'' 'Variegata' has leaves with cream margins, which turn yellow in autumn, and grows to a lesser size than its parent – typically . It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

Gallery

File:Cornus-controversa-habitus (cropped).jpg, ''Cornus controversa'', Kew Gardens, London File:Cornus controversa 07-01-18 (cropped).jpg, ''Cornus controversa'' in May, Frankfurt File:P1000347 Cornus controversa (Cornaceae).JPG, Fruit (drupes), Cambridge University Botanic Garden File:Wzwz tree 07d Cornus controversa 'Variegata'.jpg, ''C. controversa'' 'Variegata', Moorbad Park, Germany

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q926249 controversa Trees of China Trees of Nepal Plants described in 1909