
Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Flowering Dogwood🌸
Cornus florida
アメリカヤマボウシ(ハナミズキ)
A deciduous small tree native to North America. It became widespread in Japan after being gifted in return for cherry trees sent by Tokyo's mayor to Washington, D.C. in 1912. Around April, four large petal-like bracts (white to pink) open before the leaves emerge. It also displays beautiful autumn foliage and red berries.
Identification Points
- ✓Four conspicuous petal-like bracts with notched tips (the true flowers are the small cluster in the center)
- ✓Bracts are white or pink
- ✓Leaves turn red in autumn; bears red elliptical fruits
- ✓Leaves are opposite with prominent arcuate venation
Habitat
Parks, streets, and gardens (planted)
Season
April (flowers); October–November (autumn foliage and fruit)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Round
Growth form
Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Petal count
4 petals
Petal fusion
Free
Flower color
White
Flowering season
Spring
Habitat
Roadside
Phylogenetic Positionミズキ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Cornales > Cornaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene
Evolution Notes
The enlarged bracts of the dogwood family are a pollinator-attraction strategy that makes the small true flowers appear much larger.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification