Flowering Dogwood
Cornus Florida

The dogwood is a tree that is usually a shrub in most parts of the state, but sometimes grows to 40 feet high! It is widespread in the woods of east Texas. Dogwoods are most noticed in the spring with their white, showy flowers. It grows red fruit that contains quinine and can also be used to make red dye. It gets its name from when the bark of the English dogwood was used to treat dogs with mange.

• Blooms in early spring from March to April beneath towering pines and hardwoods. See them on Spring "dogwood trails" in Palestine, Tyler, Woodville, and Quitman, Texas.
• This tree is part of the dogwood family.

© Photo by Kevin Storey