Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 15, 1990 TAG: 9004130159
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Patricia C. Held
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The dogwood is a small tree that grows in moist wooded areas from southern Maine to eastern Texas. It is so highly regarded that it is often planted as an ornamental where it does not grow naturally. Here in Southwest and Central Virginia, we are lucky to have an abundance of wild dogwoods flourishing just about everywhere.
Just what makes the dogwood such a popular tree? The combination of its lovely spring blossoms, fall berries, beautiful shape and lovely color.
As the new spring leaves begin to unfold, button-shaped buds at the tips of the winter twigs expand into blossoms. The true flower is actually the small greenish yellow cluster in the center of what most of us consider the blossom. That showy growth is actually two pairs of modified leaves, called bracts.
But even if they are not true blossoms, their beauty is beyond comparison. When in full bloom, a grove of dogwood trees looks like a mass of white and pink clouds.
Before long, the blossoms are replaced by a pair of oval-shaped leaves. Bright green, these leaves have lateral veins tht curve parallel to a smooth leaf margin. As autumn approaches the leaf edges turn scarlet.
As if not to be outdone by their colorful leaves, dogwoods are decorated with tiny egg-shaped berries. By early fall the trees are covered with bunches of these crimson-colored fruits. It is these seeds as well as the leaves and twigs that make this tree such an excellent food source for many birds and mammals.
Few members of the plant kingdom are without legends, and the flowering dogwood is no exception. The cross on which Jesus Christ died is said to have been made of wood from the dogwood. Since that time, legend has it, the tree has remained small with a slender and twisted shape, and its blossoms have taken the form of a cross with nail prints at each tip.
Dogwoods rarely grow large, usually reaching a height of 10 to 20 feet. As the trees mature, their bark develops a checkered pattern that is very easy to identify.
This bark has had many uses throughout history. The inner bark is said to contain an extract known as cornine. The Indians boiled this bark and used the decoction in the treatment of fevers. During the Civil War, when Southern ports were blockaded by the Union navy, dogwood bark extract was used as a substitute for quinine.
But it's not advisable to harvest your dogwoods for medicinal purposes. People have been known to have severe allergic reactions to substances within the tree. Some books even warn campers against using dogwood sticks to roast marshmallows or hot dogs.
The dogwood is a useful wood source. The tough, close-grained wood is suitable for textile shuttles, spools and bobbins and for the heads of golf clubs, mallets, chisels and jeweler's blocks.
There is no doubt that few trees combine so much tradition, beauty and usefulness as the dogwood. How lucky we are that such a wonderful tree grows wild throughout our area.
Patricia Held will respond to readers' questions on plant and animal wildlife in the region. Mail inquiries to: Patricia C. Held, P.O. Box 65, Goode, Va. 24556.
by CNB