Michigan Trees - LightNovelsOnl.com
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WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ovoid, acute, often lopsided, smooth, dark red, 1/4 inch long.
BARK.--Twigs smooth, reddish gray, becoming dark gray or brown; dark gray and smooth on young stems, on old trunks thick, deeply furrowed into broad, scaly ridges.
WOOD.--Light, soft, close-grained, tough, light red-brown, with thick sapwood of nearly the same color.
DISTRIBUTION.--Common in most parts of the Lower Peninsula, frequent in the Upper Peninsula.
HABITAT.--Prefers rich, well-drained, loamy soils.
NOTES.--Rapid in growth. Easily transplanted. Recommended for street and ornamental planting.
+SUMMER KEY TO THE SPECIES OF CORNUS+
a. Leaves mostly alternate; branches usually greenish; flowers not surrounded by large petal-like bracts; fruit globular, blue, borne many in loose cl.u.s.ters. _C. alternifolia_, p. 207.
aa. Leaves opposite; branches usually reddish or yellowish; flowers surrounded by large petal-like bracts; fruit ovoid, scarlet, borne in close cl.u.s.ters of 3-4. _C. florida_, p. 205.
+WINTER KEY TO THE SPECIES OF CORNUS+
a. Leaf-scars mostly alternate; buds light brown; branches usually greenish. _C. alternifolia_, p. 207.
aa. Leaf-scars opposite; buds greenish; branches usually reddish or yellowish. _C. florida_, p. 205.
[Ill.u.s.tration: +Flowering Dogwood. Dogwood. Boxwood+
1. Winter twig, with leaf buds, 1.
2. Portion of twig, enlarged.
3. Winter twig, with flower bud, 1.
4. Leaf, 1/2.
5. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.
6. Flower, enlarged.
7. Fruit, 1.]
+CORNACEAE+
+Flowering Dogwood. Dogwood. Boxwood+
_Cornus florida L._
HABIT.--A bushy tree with a height of 15-30 feet and a short trunk 8-12 inches in diameter; slender, spreading branches form a flat-topped crown.
LEAVES.--Opposite, closely cl.u.s.tered at the ends of the branchlets, simple, 3-5 inches long, 2-3 inches broad; ovate to elliptical; obscurely wavy-toothed; thick and firm; bright green, covered with minute, appressed hairs above, pale and more or less p.u.b.escent beneath, turning bright scarlet in autumn; petioles short, grooved.
FLOWERS.--May, with the leaves; perfect; greenish; in dense cl.u.s.ters, surrounded by 4 large, white or pinkish, petal-like bracts (often mistaken for the corolla), borne on short, stout peduncles; calyx 4-lobed, light green; petals 4, yellow-green; stamens 4, alternate with the petals; ovary 2-celled.
FRUIT.--October; an ovoid, scarlet drupe, borne in close cl.u.s.ters of 3-4; flesh is bitter.
WINTER-BUDS.--Leaf-buds narrow-conical, acute, greenish; flower-buds spherical or vertically flattened, grayish.
BARK.--Twigs pale green, becoming red or yellow-green their first winter, later becoming light brown or red-gray; red-brown or blackish on the trunk, often separating into quadrangular, plate-like scales.
WOOD.--Heavy, hard, strong, tough, close-grained, brownish, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.--Southern Michigan as far north as the Grand-Saginaw Valley.
HABITAT.--Prefers rich, well-drained soil, usually under the shade of other trees.
NOTES.--A valuable species for ornamental purposes. Rather slow of growth.
[Ill.u.s.tration: +Blue Dogwood. Alternate-leaved Dogwood+
1. Winter twig, 1.
2. Portion of twig, enlarged.
3. Leaf, 3/4.
4. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.
5. Flower, enlarged.
6. Fruiting branchlet, 1/2.]
+CORNACEAE+
+Blue Dogwood. Alternate-leaved Dogwood+
_Cornus alternifolia L. f._
HABIT.--A small tree or large shrub reaching a height of 25-30 feet and a trunk diameter of 6-8 inches; more often smaller than this. The long, slender branches are arranged in irregular whorls, forming flat, horizontal tiers, giving the tree a storied effect.
LEAVES.--Mostly alternate and cl.u.s.tered at the ends of the branchlets; simple, 3-5 inches long, 2-1/2-3 inches broad; oval or ovate, long-pointed, wedge-shaped at the base; obscurely wavy-toothed; thin; dark green, nearly glabrous above, paler and covered with appressed hairs beneath, turning yellow and scarlet in autumn; petioles slender, grooved, hairy, with clasping bases.
FLOWERS.--May-June, after the leaves; perfect; borne on slender pedicels in many-flowered, irregular, open cymes from the season's shoots; calyx cup-shaped, obscurely 4-toothed, covered with fine, silky, white hairs; petals 4, cream colored; stamens 4; ovary 2-celled.
FRUIT.--October; a globular, blue-black drupe, borne in loose, red-stemmed cl.u.s.ters; flesh bitter.
WINTER-BUDS.--Leaf-buds small, acute, light brown; flower-buds spherical or vertically flattened.
BARK.--Twigs greenish or reddish, becoming smooth, dark green; thin, dark red-brown and shallowly fissured on the trunk.
WOOD.--Heavy, hard, close-grained, red-brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.--Scattered throughout both peninsulas.
