ALTERNATE-LEAVED DOGWOOD
Cornus alternifolia, L.
Form.—A small tree or shrub sometimes 20-30 feet high with a diameter of 6-8 inches; trunk short; crown broad, flat-topped and rather dense.
Leaves.—Alternate, or sometimes opposite, clustered at the ends of the limbs, ovate, taper-pointed, acute at base, entire, whitish and minutely pubescent beneath.
Flowers.—April-May; cream-colored, small, borne in broad open cymes.
Fruit.—Matures in autumn; a deep blue spherical drupe, about one-third inch in diameter, on reddish stalks, in cymose clusters.
Bark.—Smooth or slightly roughened by longitudinal fissures on old trunks. The smooth bark of branches is greenish.
Wood.—Hard, heavy, tough, close-grained, brown tinged with red.
Range.—Nova Scotia to Alabama, west to Minnesota.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Found principally along the Alleghanies and westward. Not common in the eastern part of the State.
Habitat.—Prefers stream borders, cool ravines, and moist rich soils of hillsides.
Notes.—No uses are reported for the wood of the Alternate-leaved Dogwood. Whether in bloom or in fruit the tree is very attractive in appearance.