Cornus nuttallii

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Pacific Dogwood
Cornus nuttallii3.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Cornales
Family: Cornaceae
Genus: Cornus
Subgenus: Cornus subg. Cynoxylon
Species:
C. nuttallii
Binomial name
Cornus nuttallii
Audubon ex Torr. & A.Gray
Cornus nuttallii range map 1.png
Natural range
Synonyms

Benthamidia nuttallii (Audubon ex Torr. & A.Gray) Moldenke

Cornus nuttallii, the Pacific dogwood,[1][2] western dogwood,[3] or mountain dogwood,[2] is a species of dogwood tree native to western North America.

Description[]

The small flowers are in a dense cluster surrounded by large white bracts.

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 6–23 metres (20–75 ft) m tall, often with a canopy spread of 6 metres (20 ft). Its habit varies based on the level of sunlight- in full sun it will have a short trunk with a crown as wide as it is tall, while under a canopy it will have a tapered trunk with a short, slender crown. [4]

The branches have fine hairs and the young bark is thin and smooth, becoming scale-like with ridges as it ages.[4]

The leaves are opposite, simple, oval, 5–12.7 centimetres (2.0–5.0 in) long, and 3.8–7.1 centimetres (1.5–2.8 in) broad. They are hairier on the bottom and have stiff, appressed hairs on top.[4]

The flowers are individually small and inconspicuous, 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.118 in) across, produced in a dense, rounded, greenish-white flowerhead 2 centimetres (0.79 in)diameter; the 4-8 large white "petals" are actually bracts, each bract 4–7 centimetres (1.6–2.8 in) long and broad. The flowers commonly bloom twice per season, once in the spring and again in late summer or early fall.[4][3]

The fruit is a compound pink-red or orange drupe about 1–1.5 centimetres (0.39–0.59 in) long, in clusters containing 20-40 drupelets, each of which contains two seeds. They appear in September or October.[3][4]

Etymology[]

Pacific Dogwood is similar in appearance to Cornus florida, the flowering dogwood, which is native to the eastern United States. When Scottish botanist David Douglas encountered Cornus nuttalli on his expedition to the Pacific Northwest in the 1820s, he mistook it for flowering dogwood and did not send seeds back to England.[3]

It was named nuttallii by John James Audubon after his friend Thomas Nuttall,[3] an English botanist who was the first to describe it for science while staying at Fort Vancouver in the autumn of 1834.[5]

Distribution and Preferred Sites[]

Pacific Dogwood blooming in the understory of a forest, showing its typical plant habit.

It occurs from the lowlands of southern British Columbia to the mountains of southern California. There exists an inland population in central Idaho, where it is considered critically imperiled. It occurs predominantly below 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in elevation.[4]

Cultivated examples are found as far north as Haida Gwaii.

It has high flood tolerance, and is common along streams with moist but well-drained soils, often on gentle slopes. Soil composition can range from clay to sandy loam, and it prefers a high humus content, moderate to high nutrient levels, and acidic soils with a pH from 5.5 to 6. It has low frost tolerance, and is usually found in low-elevation temperate or mesothermal climates.[4]It is hardy to USDA zone 7.[3]

Ecology[]

Value to Animals[]

New sprouts are good browse for both wild and domesticated ungulates, especially after a recent fire, but the mature foliage is usually ignored by all species except slugs.[4]

The fruit are eaten by deer mice, pileated woodpeckers, and the band-tailed pigeon.[4][6]

It provides habitat and cover to small birds such as Wilson's warbler, and small mammals including the red tree vole.[4]

Diseases[]

Like the related Cornus florida, it is very susceptible to dogwood anthracnose, a disease caused by the fungus Discula destructiva. Fungal activity is greatest from May to July, although it can be active any time conditions are moist and the plant is growing. Infected leaves become blotched and drop, and defoliation can be extreme. Twigs and leaf buds are also impacted. This has killed many of the larger plants in the wild and has also restricted its use as an ornamental tree, to the point where it is considered threatening to the species in its native range.[4]

Successional Status[]

It is present in all stages of both primary and secondary succession- from new colonization on glacial outwash or areas destroyed by the Mt. St. Helens eruption, to late seral and even climax communities.[4]

It is adapted to a wide variety of fire regimes, with intervals ranging from just one year on dry sites, to 500+ years in moist, riparian zones. The tree can survive low severity wildfires which are not hot enough to kill buds protected by bark. After being severely burned, Cornus nuttali typically resprouts from the root crown- however, the resulting shoots are so palatable to mule deer that they are at risk of being killed by over-browsing.[4]

Uses[]

Some Plateau Indian tribes such as the Nlaka'pamux used the bark as a brown dye. Those groups also used the bark for medicinal purposes as a blood purifier, lung strengthener, stomach treatment, laxative, and emetic.[4][7]

The berries are edible by humans, though not very palatable.

It has been the provincial flower of British Columbia[8] since 1956.[9] It was once protected by law in the province (in an act which also protected Rhododendron macrophyllum and Trillium ovatum),[10] but this was repealed in 2002.[11]

Etymology[]

Cornus is the ancient Latin word for the Cornelian cherry, Cornus mas. 'Cornus' means 'horn'.[12]

Nuttallii is named for Thomas Nuttall (1786–1859), a grower of American plants at Rainhill in Lancashire, though he lived in Long Preston, Yorkshire.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cornus nuttallii". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cornus nuttallii". Calflora. The Calflora Database. 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Cornus nuttallii | Landscape Plants | Oregon State University". landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Species: Cornus nuttallii". www.fs.fed.us. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  5. ^ "Thomas Nuttall (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  6. ^ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 655.
  7. ^ Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-Wana, "The Big River": Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land. University of Washington Press. p. 353. ISBN 0-295-97119-3.
  8. ^ "Provincial Symbols and Honours Act". Queen's Printer British Columbia. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  9. ^ http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/games/teachers-corner/fact-sheet-british-columbia.asp
  10. ^ "Dogwood, Rhododendron and Trillium Protection Act". Queen's Printer British Columbia. Archived from the original on 2002-01-02. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  11. ^ "Dogwood, Rhododendron and Trillium Protection Act". Queen's Printer British Columbia. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 121, 275

External links[]

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