#23. Creek Dogwood

Family Name:

Dogwood Family

Habitat:

Wet forest sites, frequently along streams, in ditches, or in wetland swales.

1. Leaves oval,dark shiny green above, lighter below.

2. Flowers white, tiny, in rounded clusters at the tips of the stems.

3. Stems red in winter (sold as Red-twig Dogwood at nurseries).

4. Berries white.

5. Plant is a small tree or large shrub, to twenty feet tall.

1. Ornamental shrub.

2. Wood is strong, used for tool handles.

3. Small straight stems, once called dags (hence the original plant name- dagwood), which are used as skewers for campfire cooking.

4. The bark was at one time dried and used as a tea for treating colds & flu.