Walter's dogwood is a dogwood from China and Korea that grows into a real tree, reaching 30–50 ft (10–16 m). Its gray bark breaks into deep, blocky plates, and flat-topped clusters of fragrant white flowers rise above the leaves in late spring. It isn't native to the US but has been grown here since the early 1900s and is hardy in USDA zones 4–9.
Appearance
- Growth form
- Deciduous tree up to about 55 ft (17 m), with gray bark fissured into rectangular blocks.
- Leaves
- Opposite, smooth-edged, oval leaves 1.5–5 in (4–12 cm) long, with 4–5 pairs of side veins.
- Flowers
- Small, fragrant white flowers in flat-topped clusters about 3 in (7–9 cm) across, in late spring.
- Fruit
- Round black fruits up to 1/3 in (8 mm) across.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Mixed forests
- Parks and arboreta
- Range
- Native to Korea and much of China, from Liaoning south to Yunnan, at about 1,000–9,800 ft (300–3,000 m). In the US it's mainly an arboretum and specimen tree.
Growing it
- Care
- Hardy in USDA zones 4–9. It's hard to grow from seed or cuttings.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Some botanists treat the Korean trees as a separate species, Cornus coreana, but it's often included in Walter's dogwood. Trees in cultivation were long sold under the wrong name Cornus wilsoniana.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Plant hunter E. H. Wilson collected seed in western Sichuan in 1908, and plants from that collection became available in the US in 1912 through USDA plant introductions.
- In China it's planted commercially as a source of cooking oil.
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