Skip to Main Content

Intro to Trees of Indiana: Flowering Dogwood

The classic and trusted book "Fifty Common Trees of Indiana" by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.  Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Indiana 4-H, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and reintroduced as "An Introduction to Trees of Indiana."

A printed copy of the full publication is available for purchase for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods. Threats to species health as well as also insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided through additional resources as well as the Hardwoods of the Central Midwest exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available. 

This week, we introduce the flowering dogwood or Cornus florida.Flowering dogwood leaf

This small native Indiana tree has beautiful white blossoms in the spring, and red to maroon foliage in the fall. It has opposite leaf arrangement with simple leaves featuring a venation pattern that sees the veins angle and sweep along the edges of the leaf and curve to the tip. The bark is a rough alligator hide texture that ranges from light to medium gray.

The showy white flowers, which appear in April or May, are followed by berry-like fruit clusters thatFlowering dogwood flower are green at first, later turning red.

Flowering dogwood is the largest dogwood in the state of Indiana. It is shade tolerant, but it prefers good soil drainage and protection from the wind.

Flowering dogwood is a great alternative to the invasive callery pear.

According to Morton Arboretum, the flowering dogwood grows to 20 to 40 feet tall.

According to the Wood Database, flowering dogwood is commonly used in golf club heads, textile shuttles, bows for archery, mallets, pulleys and turned objects.  

Featured Stories

BJ Meadows with her family at the Fish Fry; BJ Meadows receiving her Lifetime Achievement plaque from Dr. Zhao Ma
BJ Meadows Named 2024 FNR Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Betty Jane “BJ” Meadows was the first female graduate from Purdue’s...

Read More
Kyle Horton in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resource’s ornithology teaching classroom.
Kyle Horton lands at Purdue to advance bird migration research

Purdue University’s College of Agriculture is proud to welcome Kyle Horton, a nationally...

Read More
Dr. Jacob Goheen with former students Simon and Ali in 2007
Jacob Goheen Named 2024 FNR Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

Dr. Jacob Goheen, who received his master’s degree from Purdue in 2002, has contributed to...

Read More
Students walking and bicycling under the Purdue University arch this summer.
College of Agriculture introduces 14 new faculty members

College of Agriculture welcomes 14 new faculty members, kicking off the start of the 2025 fall...

Read More
Jackson Schwartz with extension specialist Jarred Brooke and another student at a prescribed burn.
FNR Field Report: Jackson Schwartz

Jackson Schwartz, who completed his bachelor’s degree in wildlife in May, spent the summer...

Read More
Dr. Ken Kellner at a computer; Kellner teaching; Kellner at Denali National Park.
Dr. Ken Kellner Named Outstanding Young Alumni Award Recipient

Dr. Ken Kellner, who earned his master’s degree (2012) and PhD (2015) from Purdue and...

Read More
To Top