Cornus (dogwood)

Of all our National Collections, the Cornus collection is possibly the most diverse, containing over 340 trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Some are grown for their colourful winter stems and some for their summer flowers. Four large white bracts, often mistaken for petals, surround a globular cluster of small yellow flowers. Bracts are usually white, but they can be pink in some varieties and in many others, they will fade from white to pink. Several are cultivated for edible fruits, including the European Cornus mas and the Japanese Cornus officinalis.

Cornus alba, which generally has bright red stems, comes in many forms and is grown for winter colour. Cornus kousa is from the temperate climate of East Asia and has rounded clusters of yellow flowers surrounded by very large white or pink-white bracts, while Cornus mas and officianalis produce small clusters of yellow flowers followed by cherry-like edible fruits.

The Gardens have good specimens of the rare Cornus wilsoniana, with its attractive and highly unusual camouflage bark.