Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

This lovely understory tree gets its name from the Latin word for “horn” and derives from the trees very hard wood plus “florida” meaning “with flowers.” It’s a small, deciduous tree of the eastern United States and is valued as an ornamental for its beautiful flowers in the spring and red berries in the fall. Its dense, hard wood has been used for golf club heads, shuttles in textile looms and butcher’s blocks. Red dye was extracted from its roots for coloring for inks and dyes. It is said an extract from the tree was used to wash dogs with mange, possibly the source of its common name. It is the State Tree of Virginia and Missouri and the State Flower of Virginia and North Carolina.