Kousa Dogwood

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Cornus kousa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Cornales
Family: Cornaceae
Genus: Cornus
Subgenus: Benthamidia
Species: C. kousa
Binomial name
Cornus kousa
Buerger ex Miq.

The Kousa dogwood[1] (Cornus kousa or Benthamidia kousa) is a small deciduous tree 8–12 m (26–39 ft) tall, native to eastern Asia. Like most dogwoods, it has opposite, simple leaves, 4–10 cm long. The tree is extremely showy when in bloom, but what appear to be four-petalled white flowers are actually bracts spread open below the cluster of inconspicuous yellow-green flowers. The blossoms appear in late spring, weeks after the tree leafs out. The Kousa dogwood is sometimes also called "Chinese dogwood",[2][3] Korean Dogwood,[3] or Japanese dogwood.[1]

Characteristics

The kousa dogwood can be distinguished from the closely related flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) of eastern North America by its more upright habit, flowering about a month later, and having pointed rather than rounded flower bracts.

The fruit is a globose pink to red compound berry 2–3 cm in diameter, though these berries tend to grow larger towards the end of the season and some berry clusters that do not fall from the tree surpass 4 cm. It is edible, a sweet and delicious addition to the tree's ornamental value. The fruit is sometimes used for making wine.[4]

It is resistant to the dogwood anthracnose disease, caused by the fungus Discula destructiva, unlike C. florida, which is very susceptible and commonly killed by it; for this reason, C. kousa is being widely planted as an ornamental tree in areas affected by the disease. A number of hybrids between C. kousa and C. florida have also been selected for their disease resistance and good flower appearance.

Fall foliage is a showy red color.

Varieties

There are two varieties:

  • Cornus kousa var. kousa - Japanese dogwood.[5] Leaves 4–7 cm; flower bracts 3–5 cm. Japan, Korea.
  • Cornus kousa var. chinensis - Chinese dogwood (Chinese: 四照花; pinyin: sì zhào huā).[6] Leaves 5–10 cm; flower bracts 4–6 cm. China, Taiwan.

The varieties C. kousa 'Miss Satomi'[7] and C. kousa var. chinensis[8] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Images

  • Flowers

  • Fruits

  • Withered foliage and fruit

  • Flower and bracts -- 1280x1024 walpaper

  • Actual flower with pre-bloom stage inset

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cornus kousa.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Cornus kousa Hance" at Germplasm Resources Information Network. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Gilman, Edward F. (1997). Trees for urban and suburban landscapes. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-8273-7053-1. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tenenbaum, Frances (2003). Taylor's encyclopedia of plants. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-618-22644-3. 
  4. ↑ "Cornus kousa subsp. chinensis" at eFloras.org. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "Cornus kousa Hance subsp. kousa" at Germplasm Resources Information Network. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Cornus kousa Hance subsp. chinensis (Osborn) Q. Y. Xiang" at Germplasm Resources Information Network. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  7. ↑ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=537
  8. ↑ http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=538
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