Cornus nuttallii

Cornus nuttallii MOUNTAIN DOGWOOD

Higher Taxonomy

Family: Cornaceae

Common Name: DOGWOOD FAMILY
Habit: Perennial herb to tree; sometimes dioecious. Leaf: generally opposite, simple, generally entire, generally deciduous, veins often arched; stipules 0. Inflorescence: cyme or raceme, generally umbel- or head-like, subtended by showy or +- non-showy bracts or open, not subtended by bracts. Flower: generally small, generally bisexual; calyx generally 4-lobed; petals [0]4[(5)], free; stamens generally as many as, alternate petals; ovary inferior, chambers 1--4, 1-ovuled, style simple, stigma lobes 0[2--4]. Fruit: drupe [berry]. Seed: generally 1--2.
Genera In Family: +- 12 genera, +- 100 species: especially northern temperate (also southern tropics, subtrop); cultivated as ornamental (Cornus, Aucuba); some timber species.
eFlora Treatment Author: James R. Shevock
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.

Genus: Cornus

View Description

Dichotomous Key

Common Name: DOGWOOD
Leaf: generally opposite or whorled; base, tip generally tapered. Inflorescence: head-like cyme subtended by showy bracts, open cyme not subtended by bracts, or umbel subtended by non-showy bracts. Fruit: stone 1--2-chambered.
Etymology: (Latin: horn, from the hard wood) Note: Divided by some into 6 or more genera.
Reference: Murrell 1993 Syst Bot 18:469--495; Wahlsteen et al. 2021 J Syst Evol 59: 405--416

Cornus nuttallii Audubon

NATIVE
Habit: Shrub, tree, < 25 m. Stem: twigs green, hairy; bark in age dark red to +- black. Leaf: blade 6--12 cm, narrow-elliptic to obovate, adaxially appressed-puberulent, abaxially paler, hairier; petiole 5--10 mm. Inflorescence: head-like; bracts 4--7, 4--6 cm, 3--6 cm wide, showy, +- white, persistent; receptacle convex. Flower: sepals 2.5 mm; petals 4 mm, +- green to white; style 2 mm. Fruit: 1--1.5 cm, elliptic, generally angled from crowding, red; stone smooth.
Ecology: Forest; Elevation: < 2000 m. Bioregional Distribution: CA-FP (less common s CA); Distribution Outside California: to British Columbia, Idaho. Flowering Time: Apr--Jul
Jepson eFlora Author: James R. Shevock
Reference: Murrell 1993 Syst Bot 18:469--495; Wahlsteen et al. 2021 J Syst Evol 59: 405--416
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)

Previous taxon: Cornus glabrata
Next taxon: Cornus sericea

Botanical illustration including Cornus nuttallii

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Citation for this treatment: James R. Shevock 2012, Cornus nuttallii, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=20397, accessed on April 18, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 18, 2024.

Cornus nuttallii

Cornus nuttallii

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Geographic subdivisions for Cornus nuttallii: CA-FP (less common s CA)	MAP CONTROLS 1. You can change the display of the base map layer control box in the upper right-hand corner. 2. County and Jepson Region polygons can be turned off and on using the check boxes.

(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).	Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. MAP LEGEND View all CCH records All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window. Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location. Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues. READ ABOUT YELLOW FLAGS CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA. Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).