Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Cornales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/8/20):
Swida alternifolia
FAMILY
Cornaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Alternate-leaf Dogwood at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cornus alternifolia
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
New England Wildflower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae (Haines, 2011)
Swida alternifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 142-01-002:
Cornus alternifolia
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Svida alternifolia
COMMON NAME:
Alternate-leaf Dogwood, Pagoda Dogwood, Pagoda Cornel
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_coal2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm100314_113
March Decatur County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm120424_661
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Bark dark reddish-brown, smooth at first, becoming furrowed, slightly scaly, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm150423_626
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160421_319
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A small tree with distinctive horizontal branching, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm160421_362
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm200418_3955
April Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140428_120725
April Spartanburg County SC
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140428_120748
April Spartanburg County SC
Flowers ~ 1/4" wide, in flat-topped showy clusters at end of leafy twigs, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_044
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
Leaves alternate, clustered at ends of twigs, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_cornus_alternifolia
May
)
JK Marlow jkm090706_013
July Mitchell County NC
Hedgerow
)
JK Marlow jkm090706_019
July Mitchell County NC
Hedgerow
Fruit a small blue-black drupe borne in red-stemmed terminal clusters, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge.
)
JK Marlow jkm090706_021
July Mitchell County NC
Hedgerow
Leaf venation is arcuate, with main veins curving to follow blade margin, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge.
)
JK Marlow jkm090706_034
July Mitchell County NC
Hedgerow
Leaves are pale beneath and have long petioles, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge.
)
JK Marlow jkm180728_3567
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Petioles to 2.5" long [alternate arrangement easier to see from underneath], per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_alternifolia_3
July Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
)
JK Marlow s050927_a
September Greenville County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/8/20):
Swida alternifolia
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cornus alternifolia
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
New England Wildflower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae (Haines, 2011)
Swida alternifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 142-01-002:
Cornus alternifolia
FAMILY
Cornaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Svida alternifolia
382
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, rare elsewhere
Habitat: Mesic to dry-mesic forests, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Bisexual
4-merous
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Blue
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p286
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p042
- Landscaping with Native Trees p090
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p015
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast p100
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p110
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p166
- Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Trees p358
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p032
- The Sibley Guide to Trees p355
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p256
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge p30
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p279
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p112