Pacific Dogwood

On a recent bird walk Trask spotted a rare find. Not a bird but a tree, Cornus nuttallii, our native Pacific Dogwood. It is midway down the bluff near the intersection of Sacramento and 68th. Pacific Dogwoods bloom both in the spring and late summer. Look for white flowers peeking out through the surrounding trees. Once the trees around it leaf out, they will hide our dogwood, so it will not be visible for long. If you miss it now, you may have another chance in August. Beware of the poison oak at its base!

According to a 1955 map of trees on the golf course and bluff there were six Pacific Dogwoods present. We think none of those other trees exist today. Pacific Dogwoods are threatened by the fungal disease Anthracnose caused by the fungus Discula destructiva. The name says it all! We are lucky that our tree still exists.

The flower structure consists of small florets surrounded by larger white bracts. The bracts are modified leaves, rather than true petals. Since the flowers are so very small the bracts announce their presence to potential pollinators. In the fall look for pink-red or orange drupelets in clusters containing 20-40 drupelets each containing two seeds. Drupelets are a food source for birds and mammals.

The name “dogwood” comes from the wood of Cornus sanguinea which was used for nails, “dags” in medieval Europe. There are two other native dogwoods in our area: Red-stem Dogwood (Cornus sericea) and Bunchberry (Cornus unalaschkensis). Red-stem Dogwood is a multi-stem plant growing to nine feet tall typically in wet or riparian areas. Bunchberry forms a low growing groundcover in moist shaded woodlands. The range of Pacific Dogwood extends from British Columbia to the very south of California. It is also in Idaho.