Cornus sericea

American dogwood

Family: Cornaceae · Type: shrub · Native

American dogwood is a California native shrub found in riparian and wetland habitats across northern California mountains and coastal regions at elevations from sea level to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small white flowers in clusters, creating delicate flat-topped flower arrangements. Growing with distinctive red to purple branches that mature to gray-green, the shrub reaches heights of 1.5 to 4 meters with an open, spreading growth form. Its leaves are lanceolate to ovate, typically 5 to 10 centimeters long with 4 to 7 prominent veins, appearing darker green on top and noticeably paler underneath. The fruit is a white to cream-colored drupe approximately 7 to 9 millimeters long with a smooth or slightly ridged stone.

California counties: Nevada, Fresno, Tulare, El Dorado, Sonoma, San Bernardino, Mono, Los Angeles, Shasta, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Modoc, Tuolumne, Amador, Kern, Alameda, Humboldt, Trinity, Lake, Glenn, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Diego, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Sierra, Ventura, Yuba, Alpine, Butte, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Inyo, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Marin, Mendocino, Plumas, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Solano, Riverside

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.