VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Cornus sericea | Red-Osier Dogwood 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Red-osier dogwood is used for food and cover by white-tailed deer, mule
deer, elk, moose, mountain goats, cottontail rabbits, snowshoe hares,
and numerous birds, including the bobwhite, ring-necked pheasant, wild
turkey, and grouse [41,48,82,89,105,138,155].  Red-osier dogwood fruit
is low in sugar so it is initially less attractive to wildlife and less
inclined to rot than other fruits.  Consequently, the fruit stays on the
plant through the winter and is availabile when fruits of other plants
are gone [133].  In the northern Rockies, its fruit is a key grizzly
[156] and black bear food [115].  Fruit of red-osier dogwood is also
eaten by songbirds, grouse, quail, partridge, cutthroat trout, ducks,
crows, mice and other mammals [34,143].  Deer mice, meadow voles, and
other small rodents feed on the young stems and bark [104].  Beavers use
it for food and to build dams and lodges [23,54,88,103].

Red-osier dogwood is particularly important to moose in the winter; it
is also used in the summer and in the fall when leaves that have escaped
frost are particularly favored [61,73,135].  In a Minnesota study, moose
used some red-osier dogwood during the summer, but primary use was in
the fall after the stems had reddened [65,105].  Although it remained
important, it was not used as much in the winter, possibly because some
plants were covered by deep snow [65,105].  Red-osier dogwood is
valuable winter forage for elk [43,82.  In Minnesota, white-tailed deer
browse it in April and May [65].  In the western United States and
Canada, mule deer use is heavy in the summer and moderate in the fall
and winter [83].  Livestock eat it, but it is not a preferred species
[28,118].  A 2-year study of summer cattle use of a riparian zone in
Oregon found use of red-osier dogwood was relatively heavy the first
year and light the second year [114].


PALATABILITY : 
Leaves of red-osier dogwood are relatively unpalatable to livestock, but
the young sprouts are palatable to livestock and deer [93,118].  A study
of foliage use by captive mule deer found red-osier dogwood to be second
only to Scouler willow (Salix scouleriana) in palability, with the
highest use from August through September [124].  In Montana, mule deer
apparently prefer red-osier dogwood, since its occurrence in the diet
exceeds its abundance [30].  It is palatable to elk in northern Idaho,
although not abundant in the area [89].  For white-tailed deer in the
Black Hills palatability varies by season [59]:

                                Palatability
January to March                   high
April to June                       low
July to September                  high
October to December              medium

Red-osier dogwood is a preferred moose browse in central and eastern
North America [51,79,105,155].  In the Intermountain West, it is highly
palatable to moose [61,105,132].  In Quebec, red-osier dogwood, willows
(Salix spp.), and mountain ash (Sorbus scopulina) are given the highest
palatability ratings for moose [105], and in Manitoba it is a preferred
browse species [156].

The palatability of red-osier dogwood for wildlife in several western
states is rated as follows [28,118]:

                       CA         CO      MT      ND      WY    

Cattle                poor       poor    fair    poor    poor   
Sheep                 poor       fair    fair    poor    fair   
Horses               useless     poor    poor    poor    fair   
Goats               good-fair    ----    ----    ----    ----   
Pronghorn             ----       ----    ----    poor    poor   
Elk                   ----       good    poor    ----    good   
Mule deer             ----       fair    good    poor    good   
White-tailed deer     ----       ----    fair    good    good   
Deer                good-fair    ----    ----    ----    ----   
Small mammals         ----       ----    ----    poor    good   
Small nongame birds   ----       ----    fair    fair    good   
Upland game birds     ----       ----    fair    ----    good   
Waterfowl             ----       ----    ----    ----    fair   


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Red-osier dogwood has been rated fair in energy value and poor in
protein value in some western states [28].  The fruit is low in lipids
and sugars and classified as "low quality" [132].  Tannins in the leaves
appear to inhibit protein availability, but there appears to be little
or no inhibition of protein availability in the stems browsed in the
winter [114].  The following crude protein content and digestibilities
were found in red-osier leaves fed to mule deer [114]:

     Crude protein content     Apparent protein      Digestible protein 
      (% of dry matter)        digestibility (%)     in feed (g/100 g)

           13.44                    16.27                   2.19


COVER VALUE : 
Red-osier dogwood provides valuable cover for birds and other small
animals, especially where it grows in thickets [124,149].  In Arizona
red-osier dogwood, along with willows, blueberry elder (Sambucus
cerulea), Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum), and thin-leaf alder
(Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia), provides nesting habitat for the dusky
flycatcher, MacGillivary warbler, orange-crowned warbler, broad-tailed
hummingbird, white-crowned sparrow, and Lincoln sparrow [10].  Red-osier
dogwood provides cover and shade that cools water temperatures in
streams for trout [124].  In the Pacific Northwest, red-osier dogwood
and other riparian species provide good mule deer fawning and
fawn-rearing areas in addition to good year-round security and thermal
cover [13,83].

The degree to which red-osier dogwood provides environmental protection
during one or more seasons for wildlife species is as follows [28]:

                           CO          MT         ND         WY

Pronghorn                 ----        ----       poor       poor
Elk                       ----        fair       ----       fair
Mule deer                 ----        fair       poor       good
White-tailed deer         ----        fair       good       good
Small mammals             fair        fair       fair       good
Small nongame birds       fair        fair       fair       good
Upland game birds         ----        fair       ----       good
Waterfowl                 ----        ----       ----       fair


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Red-osier dogwood is recommended for rehabilitating moist sites within
its range.  It is well adapted to disturbed sites, excellent at
stabilizing soil, easy to establish, and grows rapidly [130,158].  It
need fresh, aerated water to establish and may be particularly useful in
stabilizing eroding streambanks [52,86].  Its high tolerance for oil
could make it useful on oil-damaged sites [148].  Rooted cuttings or
nursery-grown seedlings are easily established on moist, well-drained
soils and grows rapidly [54,148].  Seed production and handling are
described as "very good" [158].  On Intermountain sites, it is
moderately easy to establish from seed and spreads from seed at a
moderate rate; it also establishes readily from transplants and spreads
rapidly [158]].  Based on reports from Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and
North Dakota, red-osier dogwood's growth is best on gentle slopes [28].
Its establishment requirements are moderate to high, and its potential
biomass production is moderate.  It has moderate potential for use in
erosion control and greater potential for long-term revegetation than
for short-term revegetation [28].

Studies of rehabilitation along a Columbia River impoundment in
Washington found 5-year-old plantings of red-osier dogwood to be very
successful based on survival, growth, and use by wildlife for forage or
cover [12].  In the Tahoe Basin, establishment was fair to good and
long-term survival was good; red-osier dogwood did best on moist sites
with better soils [123].  On northwestern Montana roadcuts, red-osier
dogwood's survival and growth was good.  Although plants on drier
south-facing slopes did not develop as well as those on moister sites,
they grew and survived much better than expected [64].

Cuttings of red-osier dogwood root easily without treatment and can be
directly planted providing sufficient moisture is available [29].  One
hundred percent of cuttings taken in early August were rooted in 5 weeks
and 90 percent of those taken in mid-April were rooted in 8 weeks [29].
Red-osier dogwood also readily layers [126].  Rooted stock was
recommended for a Utah forest where land managers had difficulty
stabilizing areas damaged by mudslides and flooding [146].  Rooting of
red-osier dogwood cuttings was slowed slightly by endomycorrhizal
infection in one study, but overall rooting was not affected [95].
Grasses decrease red-osier dogwood growth in containers by as much as 72
percent [145].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Red-osier dogwood is an attractive landscaping plant [7,134].  In the
winter its deep red stems and twigs provide color, in the spring it
produces many creamy white flowers followed by attractive white fruits,
and in the fall its leaves turn a spectacular maroon [7].  Once
established, it is drought tolerant [7] and, for gardeners in rural
areas, it is less palatable to white-tailed deer and mule deer than many
other ornamental shrubs [5,22].

The long slim stems were used by Indians for basket weaving and are
still used by present-day crafters [72].  Indians and early settlers
smoked the inner bark, stem scrapings, and leaves, which have a slightly
narcotic effect [72,93].  In Southern California the inner green cambium
layers were peeled, dried, and smoked ceremonially [23].  Indians also
used an extract from red-osier dogwood as an emetic for treating fevers
and coughs and obtained dyes from the bark and roots [93].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Red-osier dogwood is especially valuable for protecting and stabilizing
streambanks because of its thick, extensive root system [52,54,153].
This is particularly important to management of higher gradient stream
channels where scouring by seasonal flooding occurs.

In a Lake States study, red-osier dogwood did not hold up under heavy
use but did well with light clipping [2].  Other studies indicate that
red-osier dogwood may increase with some browsing [107].  Following 61
percent leader use by cattle in Oregon, red-osier dogwood responded with
exceptional growth the following year when it had light use, and should
continue to do well with alternating years of moderate and light use
[114].  However, heavy and prolonged grazing in Montana ponderosa pine
(Pinus ponderosa) or cottonwood (Populus spp.) and red-osier dogwood
riparian communities may eliminate the dogwood and convert the area to a
Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) understory [54]. Heavy grazing by
Wisconsin dairy cows eliminated red-osier dogwood from streambanks
[149].  In southwestern Montana, after moose hedging of red-osier
dogwood increased 80 to 100 percent in 2 years, forage production and
plant vigor became very low [132].  Moose browsing on Isle Royale has
reduced red-osier dogwood abundance and height [113,128].

Red-osier dogwood is most valuable to beaver in its early growth stages
when it is resprouting after fire or other disturbance [152].  Managers
find that marsh sites are excellent for beaver production but that the
beaver impoundments raise the water level to a point where red-osier
dogwood and other food plants are killed.  The problem is solved
naturally when the beaver abandon the site and the plants regenerate,
but to hasten succession and provide suitable beaver habitat, red-osier
dogwood cuttings can be planted near the new pond edge [103].

Herbicides designed to weed ornamental crops also injured up to 20
percent of the tissue of red-osier dogwood plants [145].  Red-osier
dogwood can be controlled by spraying with mixtures of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T
or dicamba and either 2,4-D or 2,3,4-T [125].  Treatment with 2,4-D or
paraquat causes chlorosis and necrosis of leaves and stems and delays
spring growth [25].  Plants treated with 2,4-D and paraquat were
affected much less when they were treated after vegetative maturity (the
stage of dormancy preceding visible leaf senescence) than when treated
earlier in the year [25].

Related categories for Species: Cornus sericea | Red-Osier Dogwood