Also called the Flowering Dogwood, this 20 meter (70 foot) tree is British Columbia's floral emblem. It belongs to the Family Cornaceae (Dogwood) which also includes Red-osier Dogwood (C. stolonifera and Bunchberry (C. canadensis). All parts (the flower, berries, wood and bark) are protected by law in the province of British Columbia, like the Cascara tree.
Pacific Dogwood prefers moist, but well-drained soils at low elevations (to 450 meters or 1500 feet) and usually grows near streams. It is common in some local areas, but uncommon elsewhere. Its range includes the western half of southern British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.
In the fall, purplish-brown bracts form over next spring's flower buds. These bracts grow into the showy white petals the following spring. These bracts protect the inner flowers and when enlarged and white, attract many species of insect pollinators to the flowers. The white bracts do not fall off until all the smaller flowers inside are pollinated and as a result they bloom for a long time.
The White flowers of the Dogwood bloom April to June and sometimes again in September. Each flower has four to six white 'petals' with a notch at the top of each. The notch is a result of the notch you see on the purplish bud before the flower forms.
In reality, each 'flower' is actually a cluster of tiny flowers inside the large white bracts. Inside, you will notice about 20 miniature greenish flowers.
Each twig the large flower is attached to is bent to prevent overlap with other flowers. This is what makes it such a showy tree when in bloom.
Clusters of tightly-grouped berries called 'drupes' develop from the flowers over the summer and by the end of August add red color to the tree, as do the leaves that turn reddish in the fall. These berries provide food for birds such as Pileated Woodpecker, Flicker and Band-tailed pigeon. This makes it a good tree to plant in a wildlife garden.
The bark of the Dogwood tree is smooth and dark brown. As the tree ages, the bark grows rough ridges. The bark was boiled to make a dark brown dye by First Nations people.
The leaves are about 10 cm (4 inches) long and are darker green above than below. The leaf veins curve parallel to the leaf edge, typical of members of the dogwood family.
This hard wood was historically used by the First Nations people for wooden handles, hooks and skewers called 'dags'. It was called 'Dagwood" because it was used so often for skewers. Over time the name was Anglisized to Dogwood. Another explantion for the name includes the fact that the berries are so unpaltable that even a dog wouldn't eat them.
by Donna Hill B.Sc. B.Ed. 1998