Cornus obliqua (Narrowleaf Dogwood)

Cornus obliqua

Cornus obliqua Raf.

Swida amomum (Mill.) Small var. schuetzeana (C.A. Mey.) A.Haines

Cornus amomum Mill. ssp. obliqua (Raf.) J.S. Wilson

Cornus amomum Mill. var. schuetzeana (C.A. Mey.) Rickett

Cornus purpusii Koehne

Narrowleaf Dogwood, Silky Dogwood, Swamp Dogwood

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Cornales	Includes dogwoods, hydrangeas, stickleafs, tupelos, even sillyberries
Family	Cornaceae	Dogwood family
Genus	Cornus	Latin for “a horn”
Species	obliqua	Latin for “slanting”

About plant names...

Narrowleaf dogwood is native to eastern and central North America.

Identification: These dogwoods are multiply branched shrubs up to 12' (3.7 m) high. Branch bark is highly variable in color: gray, brown, reddish brown, red, or yellow-brown. Young twigs have fine hairs; mature branches have vertical lenticels. Leaves are opposite, on stems up to ½" (1.5 cm) long. Leaves are deeply veined on the back, up to 4" (10 cm) × 1¼" (3.5 cm) in size, oval with pointed tips, somewhat narrower than other dogwood leaves. They turn deep red or maroon in the fall. Flowers bloom from May to June, and are yellowish-white. The berries are, well, if you ask me, awesome. First, they’re colorful: they go from green to white to light blue to deep blue. It is the light blue phase that I like best—they have a sheen that actually looks metallic.

Online References:

Cornus obliqua at the Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Cornus obliqua at Illinois Wildflowers

Cornus obliqua on

Cornus obliqua at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Cornus obliqua at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

References:

Petrides, George A., Peterson Field Guides: Trees and Shrubs, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1972, p. 77, 106

Symonds, George W.D., Shrub Identification Book, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1963, p. 98

8/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, MA
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, MA
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, MA
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain

9/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, MA
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, MA
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

Cornus obliqua description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

8/27/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, NH
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, ME
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 11 cm)

8/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, MA
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, MA
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

7/15/2020 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

8/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, MA
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

8/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, MA
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

7/17/2019 · Oceanview, Falmouth, ME
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm)

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, MA
≈ 7 × 8" (19 × 20 cm)

Range: Zones 4-8:

About this map...