Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)

• Size: Grows to 60’ tall but usually much smaller.

• Leaves: Simple, opposite, deciduous; ovate; 3”-5” long; smooth, wavy margins; curved veins; turn bright red in autumn.

• Flowers: Tiny whitish flowers surrounded by 4 or 6 large white bracts.

• Fruit: Flattened, reddish, “berries” in dense clusters.

• Twigs: Opposite twigs and buds.  Branches dip from leaf cluster to leaf cluster.

• Bark:  Thin, gray, and smooth.Distribution: occur on the west side of the Cascades and Sierras from British Columbia to southern California; they also occur sporadically in wetter parts of Idaho.

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For more information about this species see “Trees to Know in Oregon”.