Common dogwood

Cornus sanguinea

Family · Cornaceae · Irritating

Toxic

The hedgerow shrub whose stems turn blood red in winter, when it drops its leaves, and which is therefore visible from afar on a riverbank in January. It has an identification trick that works all year.

Where it grows

Streams and ditches · Oak woods · Roadsides and waste ground · Uplands

Also known as

bloody dogwood, European dogwood

In flower

In fruit

How to tell it

The trick: tear a leaf slowly in half and pull the two halves apart. White elastic threads stretch between them, like webs, holding without breaking. Only the dogwood family does this. Opposite leaves, with curved veins converging at the tip. Black berries in a flat cluster.

What it is confused with

Mediterranean buckthorn

Rhamnus alaternus

Harmless confusion

The common names get swapped and both bear inedible black berries. Common dogwood has opposite leaves and drops them in winter, its stems turning red; buckthorn has alternate leaves and is evergreen.

Open sheet →

What it is for

The wood is extremely hard and made handles, gear teeth and skewers. The black berries are not eaten: they are bitter and cause vomiting, unlike those of cornelian cherry, which is a different species.

Sources

Flora-On