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Species Information
General: Deciduous shrub; stems 1-6 m tall, spreading by layering of prostrate stems that simulate stolons; young branches opposite, bright reddish to reddish-purple, later turning greyish-green.
Leaves: Opposite, deciduous, oval, pointed, 4-12 cm long, greenish above, whitish below, turning reddish in the autumn, 5-7 prominent parallel veins converging at the leaf tips, white threads running through the veins.
Flowers: Inflorescence of flat-topped terminal clusters, 2-4 cm wide; flowers white to greenish-white, 4 petals and stamens, bracts inconspicuous.
Fruits: Berrylike drupes, 7-9 mm long, white sometimes blue-tinged, each with flattened stone.
Wet to mesic streamsides, lakesides, swamps and forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common throughout BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to WV, OH, NE, NM, CA and MX.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
A shade-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to subalpine, transcontinental North American deciduous shrub. Occurs on very moist to wet, nitrogen-rich soils (Moder and Mull humus forms. Tolerates fluctuating groundwater tables. Widespread in boreal. temperate, and cool mesothermal climates: its occurrence decreases with increasing elevation. Plentiful in black cottonwood or red alder stands on alluvial. flooded, and stream-edge sites: often dominant in nutrient-rich wetlands. Regenerates abundantly and grows vigorously in clearings where it may hinder natural regeneration and growth of shade-intolerant conifers. Characteristic of alluvial floodplain forests.
BC Ministry of Environment:BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer,
the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.
Synonyms and Alternate Names
Cornus ×californica C.A. Mey. Cornus alba var. californica (C.A. Mey.) B. Boivin Cornus alba var. occidentalis (Torr. & A. Gray) B. Boivin Cornus occidentalis (Torr. & A. Gray) Coville Cornus sericea subsp. sericea L. Cornus stolonifera Michx. Cornus stolonifera var. californica (C.A. Mey.) McMinn Cornus stolonifera var. occidentalis (Torr. & A. Gray) C.L. Hitchc.
