Cornus sericea subsp. occidentalis

Family: Cornaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Red-osier dogwood is a California native shrub found in the California Floristic Province in moist habitats at elevations below 2,500 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small white flowers with petals 3 to 4.5 millimeters long. Growing with multiple stems 1 to 3 meters tall, it forms dense thickets in riparian areas. Its leaves are dense and rough-textured on the underside, creating a distinctive tactile and visual appearance. The fruit develops with a stone generally marked by three ridges on its faces.

Habitat: Generally moist places

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

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

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