Cornus Sericea

''Cornus sericea'', the red osier or red-osier dogwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native to much of North America. It has sometimes been considered a synonym of the Asian species ''Cornus alba''. Other names include red brush, red willow,USDA NRCSbr>Plant Guide: REDOSIER DOGWOOD. May, 2006
/ref>Hilger, Inez (1951, repr. 1992) ''Chippewa Child Life and Its Cultural Background'', page 63Hart, Jeff, and Jacqueline Moore (1992). ''Montana—native plants and early peoples''
pages 38–39
Montana Historical Society. redstem dogwood, redtwig dogwood, red-rood, American dogwood, creek dogwood, and western dogwood.

Description

In the wild, it most commonly grows in areas of rich, poorly drained soils, such as riparian zones and wetlands, or in upland areas which receive more than 20 inches of precipitation annually. More uncommonly, it may be found in drier zones albeit at lesser abundance. Red osier dogwood is tolerant of flooding and has been known to survive up to seven years of water above root crown level. It occurs from sea level to 10,000 feet (3,000m), but in many areas is most common above 1,500 feet.

It is a medium to tall deciduous shrub, growing 1.5–4 m tall and 3–5 m wide, spreading readily by underground stolons to form dense thickets. The branches and twigs are dark red, although wild plants may lack this coloration in shaded areas.

The leaves are opposite, 5–12 cm long and 2.5–6 cm broad, with an ovate to oblong shape and an entire margin; they are dark green above and glaucous below; fall color is commonly bright red to purple. Like all dogwoods, they have characteristic stringy white piths within the leaf stalks, which can be used for identification.

The flowers are small (5–10 mm diameter), flat, umbella-like and dull white, in clusters 3–6 cm diameter.

The fruit is a Sphere, globose white berry (botany), berry 5–9 mm diameter.

The Latin Botanical name#Binary name, specific epithet ''sericea'' means "silky", referring to the texture of the leaves.

Ecology

Red osier dogwood provides food and cover for many species of mammals and birds. The stems and especially new shoots are browsed by moose, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, beavers, and rabbits, while the fruits are an important autumn food source for bears, small mammals, and 47 different bird species. In winter, red osier dogwood is heavily browsed by ungulates; in some areas use exceeds availability and individuals which have not been browsed are rare. The shrub is also important for nesting habitat and cover for a great variety of animals.

''Cornus sericea'' is shade tolerant but prefers intermediate to high light levels. It tolerates disturbance well, and appears early in both primary and secondary succession throughout its native range, but especially in floodplains and riparian zones. It thrives in fire-disturbed sites, sprouting from seeds or damaged shrubs.

Although its conservation status is overall secure, it is considered vulnerable in Iowa and critically imperiled in Kentucky and Virginia.

Cultivation

''Cornus sericea'' is a popular ornamental shrub that is often planted for the red coloring of its twigs in the dormant season. The cultivars 'Bud's Yellow',
'Flaviramea' with lime green stems,
and 'Hedgerows Gold' (variegated foliage) have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).

Like most dogwood species native to North America, ''C. sericea'' can be parasitized by the dogwood sawfly, possibly leaving much of the plant devoid of leaves. A variety of pesticides are effective; however, hand-picking the larvae is also an option.

Uses

''Cornus sericea'' is frequently used for waterway bank erosion protection and restoration in the United States and Canada. Its root system provides excellent soil retention, it is hardy and provides an attractive shrub even when bare in winter, and its ability to be reproduced by cuttings makes it a low-cost solution for large-scale plantings.

Some Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, Plateau Indigenous tribes ate the berries to treat common cold, colds and to slow bleeding.Moerman, Daniel E. (1998) "''Cornus sericea ssp. occidentallis''" ''Native American ethnobotany'' Timber Press, Portland, Oregon
page 178

Known as ''cansasa'' in Lakota language, Lakota, the inner bark was also used by the Lakota and other Native Americans as "traditional tobacco", either by itself or in a mixture with other plant materials. Among the Algonquian peoples such as the Ojibwe, the smoking mixtures, known as kinnikinnick, blended the inner bark with tobacco, while more western tribes added it to the bearberry leaf to improve the taste.

The Ojibwe used red-osier dogwood bark as a dye by taking the inner bark and mixing it with other plants or minerals.

The withies, or osiers, are used in basketry.

Subspecies

It is a variable species, with two subspecies commonly accepted:
*''Cornus sericea'' subsp. ''sericea'' – throughout the range of the species. Shoots and leaves hairless or finely pubescent; flower petals 2–3 mm.
*''Cornus sericea'' subsp. ''occidentalis'' (Torr. & A.Gray) Fosberg – western North America. Shoots and leaves densely pubescent; flower petals 3–4.5 mm.

Distribution

It is native plant, native throughout boreal and temperate zones in northern and western North America from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south to Durango and Nuevo León in the west, and Illinois and Virginia in the east.

*''Cornus sericea'' L. has been recorded from counties County Antrim, Antrim and County Londonderry, Londonderry in Northern Ireland.Hackney, P. 1992. "Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland." Third edition. Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast. (HB)

Gallery

Image:Cornus sericea habit.jpg, shrub
Image:Cornus sericea fall.jpg, shrub, fall
Image:Cornus sericea winter.jpg, shrub, winter
Image:Cornus Stolonifera garden show 1.jpg, twigs
Image:Cornus sericea leaf.jpg, leaf
Image:Cornus sericea twig.jpg, twig and leaf
Image:Cornus sericea leaves and inflorescence 2003-08-11.jpg, flowers
Image:Redtwigdog.jpg, flowers
Image:Cornus sericea flower.jpg, flowers
Image:Cornus sericea HdB.png, ''Cornus: specimen botanicum sistens descriptiones et icones specierum corni minus cognitarum''
Image:Cornus sericea seed.png, seed

References

*

External links

*

Jepson Flora of California: ''Cornus sericea''subsp. ''sericea''subsp. ''occidentalis''



* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=COSE16 NRCS: USDA Plants Profile: ''Cornus sericea'']
*

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Cornus, sericea
Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
Flora of Subarctic America
Flora of Eastern Canada
Flora of Western Canada
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of the North-Central United States
Flora of the Northeastern United States
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Flora of the South-Central United States
Flora of the Southeastern United States
Flora of Northeastern Mexico