Michigan Trees Part 43

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ovoid, acute, often lopsided, smooth, dark red, 1/4 inch long.

BARK.--Twigs smooth, reddish gray, becoming dark gray or brown; dark gray and smooth on young stems, on old trunks thick, deeply furrowed into broad, scaly ridges.

WOOD.--Light, soft, close-grained, tough, light red-brown, with thick sapwood of nearly the same color.

DISTRIBUTION.--Common in most parts of the Lower Peninsula, frequent in the Upper Peninsula.

HABITAT.--Prefers rich, well-drained, loamy soils.

NOTES.--Rapid in growth. Easily transplanted. Recommended for street and ornamental planting.

+SUMMER KEY TO THE SPECIES OF CORNUS+

a. Leaves mostly alternate; branches usually greenish; flowers not surrounded by large petal-like bracts; fruit globular, blue, borne many in loose cl.u.s.ters. _C. alternifolia_, p. 207.

aa. Leaves opposite; branches usually reddish or yellowish; flowers surrounded by large petal-like bracts; fruit ovoid, scarlet, borne in close cl.u.s.ters of 3-4. _C. florida_, p. 205.

+WINTER KEY TO THE SPECIES OF CORNUS+

a. Leaf-scars mostly alternate; buds light brown; branches usually greenish. _C. alternifolia_, p. 207.

aa. Leaf-scars opposite; buds greenish; branches usually reddish or yellowish. _C. florida_, p. 205.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Flowering Dogwood. Dogwood. Boxwood+

1. Winter twig, with leaf buds, 1.

2. Portion of twig, enlarged.

3. Winter twig, with flower bud, 1.

4. Leaf, 1/2.

5. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.

6. Flower, enlarged.

7. Fruit, 1.]

+CORNACEAE+

+Flowering Dogwood. Dogwood. Boxwood+

_Cornus florida L._

HABIT.--A bushy tree with a height of 15-30 feet and a short trunk 8-12 inches in diameter; slender, spreading branches form a flat-topped crown.

LEAVES.--Opposite, closely cl.u.s.tered at the ends of the branchlets, simple, 3-5 inches long, 2-3 inches broad; ovate to elliptical; obscurely wavy-toothed; thick and firm; bright green, covered with minute, appressed hairs above, pale and more or less p.u.b.escent beneath, turning bright scarlet in autumn; petioles short, grooved.

FLOWERS.--May, with the leaves; perfect; greenish; in dense cl.u.s.ters, surrounded by 4 large, white or pinkish, petal-like bracts (often mistaken for the corolla), borne on short, stout peduncles; calyx 4-lobed, light green; petals 4, yellow-green; stamens 4, alternate with the petals; ovary 2-celled.

FRUIT.--October; an ovoid, scarlet drupe, borne in close cl.u.s.ters of 3-4; flesh is bitter.

WINTER-BUDS.--Leaf-buds narrow-conical, acute, greenish; flower-buds spherical or vertically flattened, grayish.

BARK.--Twigs pale green, becoming red or yellow-green their first winter, later becoming light brown or red-gray; red-brown or blackish on the trunk, often separating into quadrangular, plate-like scales.

WOOD.--Heavy, hard, strong, tough, close-grained, brownish, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Southern Michigan as far north as the Grand-Saginaw Valley.

HABITAT.--Prefers rich, well-drained soil, usually under the shade of other trees.

NOTES.--A valuable species for ornamental purposes. Rather slow of growth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Blue Dogwood. Alternate-leaved Dogwood+

1. Winter twig, 1.

2. Portion of twig, enlarged.

3. Leaf, 3/4.

4. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.

5. Flower, enlarged.

6. Fruiting branchlet, 1/2.]

+CORNACEAE+

+Blue Dogwood. Alternate-leaved Dogwood+

_Cornus alternifolia L. f._

HABIT.--A small tree or large shrub reaching a height of 25-30 feet and a trunk diameter of 6-8 inches; more often smaller than this. The long, slender branches are arranged in irregular whorls, forming flat, horizontal tiers, giving the tree a storied effect.

LEAVES.--Mostly alternate and cl.u.s.tered at the ends of the branchlets; simple, 3-5 inches long, 2-1/2-3 inches broad; oval or ovate, long-pointed, wedge-shaped at the base; obscurely wavy-toothed; thin; dark green, nearly glabrous above, paler and covered with appressed hairs beneath, turning yellow and scarlet in autumn; petioles slender, grooved, hairy, with clasping bases.

FLOWERS.--May-June, after the leaves; perfect; borne on slender pedicels in many-flowered, irregular, open cymes from the season's shoots; calyx cup-shaped, obscurely 4-toothed, covered with fine, silky, white hairs; petals 4, cream colored; stamens 4; ovary 2-celled.

FRUIT.--October; a globular, blue-black drupe, borne in loose, red-stemmed cl.u.s.ters; flesh bitter.

WINTER-BUDS.--Leaf-buds small, acute, light brown; flower-buds spherical or vertically flattened.

BARK.--Twigs greenish or reddish, becoming smooth, dark green; thin, dark red-brown and shallowly fissured on the trunk.

WOOD.--Heavy, hard, close-grained, red-brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Scattered throughout both peninsulas.