Cornus sericea subsp. sericea

Family: Cornaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Red-osier dogwood is a California native shrub found in the California Floristic Province and Great Basin in moist habitats at elevations up to 2,800 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white flowers with petals 2 to 3 millimeters long. Growing with multiple stems 1 to 3 meters tall, it forms dense thickets in riparian areas. Its leaves are generally smooth to slightly hairy on the undersides, with simple, opposite arrangement and green to dark green coloration. The fruit is a small, smooth stone that provides food for local wildlife.

Habitat: Generally moist habitats

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 2800 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, GB (uncommon s CA).

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

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