Cornus asperifolia

Shrubs, to 4 m, flowering at 1.5 m; rhizomes present. Stems solitary, 1–5 dm apart; bark gray, splitting into small plates; branchlets green to bronze, often tinged with maroon, densely pubescent; lenticels inconspicuous on new growth, periderm around them swelling to form broad raised areas on 2d year branches; pith white. Leaves: petiole 2–7 mm; blade elliptic to ovate, 3–8.5 × 2–4 cm, base usually rounded, sometimes cuneate, apex acute, abaxial surface pale green, hairs erect, curling, white, adaxial surface dark green, hairs spreading to erect, occasionally 1 arm appressed; secondary veins 3–4 per side, evenly spaced. Inflorescences pyramidal, 2–5 cm diam., peduncle 15–45 mm; branches and pedicels yellow-green, turning maroon in fruit. Flowers: hypanthium densely appressed-hairy; sepals 0.2–0.8 mm; petals white, 1.7–2.4 mm. Drupes blue to whitish blue, globose, 4–7 mm diam.; stone globose, 3–5 mm diam., smooth or slightly grooved, apex rounded.

Phenology: Flowering Apr–Jun; fruiting Aug–Sep.
Habitat: Marl or limestone outcrops, hammocks, swamp margins.
Elevation: 0–100 m.

Ala., Fla., Ga., Miss., N.C., S.C.

Discussion

G. V. Nash (1896b) collected Cornus asperifolia at River Junction, Florida; based on the conflicting reports of fruit colors given by A. W. Chapman (1860) and J. M. Coulter and W. H. Evans (1890) for the two rough-leaved dogwoods (C. asperifolia and C. drummondii), Nash decided to name the rough-leaved dogwood of Florida with blue fruit as C. microcarpa. However, the description by Michaux, even without a reference to fruit color, cannot apply to C. drummondii, because the locality is given as “Carolinae inferioris,” and C. drummondii does not occur in South Carolina.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa