BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Cornus racemosa | Gray Dogwood 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Gray dogwood is a native, deciduous, rhizomatous shrub, usually from 4
to 10 feet (1.2-3.0 m) high.  It sometimes becomes a small tree up to 27
feet (8 m) high [17].  It has ascending stems and branches that often
form impenetrable dome-shaped clusters or thickets [4].  The leaves are
2.5 to 4.0 inches (6.0-10 cm) long, and the flowers are borne in open,
irregular cymes.  The individual fruits enclose a single stone and occur
in clusters [2,6,14].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Gray dogwood reproduces both sexually and asexually.  It begins
producing seed at about 4 to 5 years of age and produces an abundant
amount of seed every year.  Gray dogwood reproduces vegetatively by
sprouting from underground rhizomes [22,29].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Gray dogwood grows on a variety of sites within its range.  It is found
in meadows, open woodlands, riparian zones, along roadsides, and forest
margins.  It grows best on rich, moist, well-drained soils, but will
also grow on mineral-rich limestone bedrock and rock outcroppings.  In
Appalachian oak-hickory forests, it usually occurs on open ridgetops and
south- and west-facing slopes [1,10,16].



SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Gray dogwood is an early to mid-seral species [12,20].  It is most
common in understories of mixed, open forests and grows best in moderate
to full sunlight [18].  In southwestern Wisconsin, aboveground growth
rates of gray dogwood were greater in open habitats than in forest
understories [12].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Gray dogwood flowers from May through July, with fruits maturing from
August through October [4,14].  Leaves emerge in early April and abscise
in late October [13].

Related categories for Species: Cornus racemosa | Gray Dogwood