Cornus kousa 'Prophet' (Kousa Dogwood)

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Kousa Dogwood

Description

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Family Cornaceae

Trees or shrubs , rarely rhizomatous herbs, mostly deciduous, sometimes evergreen , hermaphroditic [dioecious in African species]. Old branches terete , pith white or brown, lenticels and leaf scars often conspicuous ; young branches rounded or slightly 4-ridged; nodes slightly swollen. Leaves opposite, rarely alternate or whorled , estipulate, petiolate , rarely sessile; leaf blade simple , entire, pinnately veined, rarely parallel veined, often pubescent , sometimes papillate ; trichomes often 2-armed, arms equal or unequal, appressed and T-shaped, or raised and V- or Y-shaped, or pseudofiliform. Inflorescences cymose , paniculate , corymbose , umbellate , or capitulate, terminal , rarely lateral ; bracts minute, not petaloid , early caducous , or 4(â€“6) and usually showy. Flowers 4-merous. Calyx tubular , fused to ovary, minutely 4-dentate or truncate . Petals 4, free , creamy white or yellow, rarely dark reddish purple or partially dark reddish purple, valvate . Stamens 4, surrounding a fleshy floral disk, alternate petals. Anthers longitudinally dehiscent . Ovary inferior; carpels 2, rarely 3 or 4; locules 2, rarely 3 or 4; ovules pendulous, 1 per locule; style 1, columnar or clavate ; stigma capitate, disciform , punctate , or truncate, sometimes slightly 2-lobed. Fruit a drupaceous berry, white, blue, red, or black, berries distinct or fused into a fleshy syncarpous compound fruit ; stone of fruit bony, 1- or 2(â€“4) -chambered, seeds 1 or 2(â€“4) ; endosperm oily; cotyledons 2, leaflike.

One genus and ca. 55 species: widespread in N temperate regions , extending to tropical and boreal areas, one species in tropical Africa and one or two species in South America; 25 species (14 endemic) in China.

The family is treated here in the strict sense, excluding Alangium (Alangiaceae), Aucuba (Aucubaceae), Davidia (Davidiaceae), Helwingia (Helwingiaceae), Mastixia (Mastixiaceae), Nyssa (Nyssaceae), and Toricellia (Toricelliaceae), all of which have sometimes been placed in the Cornaceae. The Cornaceae in the FRPS included Mastixia, Cornus sensu lato, Aucuba, Helwingia, and Toricellia. Given that the latter three genera are allied with higher asterids in broad phylogenetic analyses, they are, therefore, removed from the Cornaceae in this treatment. These genera are recognized in the present volume as three families following Takhtajan (Sist. Magnoliofit. 1987) . Based on molecular data, Mastixia is a close relative, but not the sister of, Cornus. Its relationships to Cornus and close relatives remain unclear. Thus, we also treat Mastixia as a family separate from Cornaceae. Although molecular data have suggested that Alangium is a member of Cornaceae, the genus will be treated as a separate family in a different volume of the Flora of China. This treatment of Cornaceae therefore includes only Cornus sensu lato.

The circumscription of the Cornaceae and the relationships among the 17 genera often placed within it have been controversial. The family has been defined as consisting of a single genus, Cornus, or up to as many as 15 genera by various authors (e.g. , Harms, Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 15: 19â€“29. 1898; Takhtajan, Sist. Magnoliofit. 1987; Cronquist, Integr. Syst. Classif. Fl. Pl. 1988; Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85: 531â€“553. 1998; see also Xiang et al. , Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 80: 723â€“734. 1993; Xiang & Soltis in Boufford & Ohba, Sino-Jap. Fl. Charact. Diversif. 123. 1998) . Recent phylogenetic analyses of the chloroplast gene rbcL sequences (Xiang et al., loc. cit. 1993; Xiang & Soltis, loc. cit. 1998; Xiang, Harvard Pap. Bot. 4: 527â€“542. 1999) suggested that nine genera (Aralidium, Aucuba, Corokia, Garrya, Griselinia, Helwingia, Kaliphora, Melanophylla, and Toricellia) were not closely related to Cornaceae. Evidence from other studies, including pollen morphology and wood anatomy (Li & Chao, Quart. J. Taiwan Mus. 7: 119â€“136. 1954; Ferguson & Hideux, Proc. IV Int. Palynol. Conf., Lucknow 1: 240. 1980; Noshiro & Baas, IAWA J. 19: 43â€“97. 1998; see also Eyde, Bot. Rev. 54: 233â€“351. 1988), support the removal of these genera from Cornaceae. Various phylogenetic analyses of the rbcL and other chloroplast gene sequences identified a strongly supported monophyletic Cornales consisting of Alangium, Camptotheca, Cornus, Curtisia, Davidia, Diplopanax, Hydrangeaceae, Hydrostachyaceae, Grubbiaceae, Loasaceae, Mastixia, and Nyssa (Chase et al., Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 80: 528â€“580. 1993; Xiang & Soltis, loc. cit. 1998; Xiang, loc. cit. 1999; Olmstead et al., Molec. Phylogen. Evol. 16: 96â€“112. 2000; Savolainen et al., Kew Bull . 55: 257â€“309. 2000; Savolainen et al., Syst. Biol. 49: 306â€“362. 2000; Soltis et al., Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 133: 381â€“461. 2000; Albach et al., Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 88: 163â€“210. 2001; Albach et al., Taxon 50: 781â€“805. 2001) . Phylogenetic analyses of the rbcL and matK sequences for the Cornales suggested a Cornaceae consisting of Alangium and Cornus, a Grubbiaceae consisting of Curtisia and Grubbia (Xiang et al., Amer. J. Bot. 85: 285â€“297. 1998; Xiang, loc. cit. 1999; Xiang et al., Molec. Phylogen. Evol. 24: 35â€“57. 2002; Fan & Xiang, Amer. J. Bot. 90: 1357â€“1372. 2003) . The Cornaceae of Eyde (loc. cit. 1988), consisting of Camptotheca, Cornus, Davidia, Diplopanax, Mastixia, and Nyssa, were not supported by molecular data.

The hard wood of several species of Cornus is used for making farming tools. The fruit of some species is used for food or as a source of industrial oil . Cornus mas Linnaeus is cultivated in China for medicinal uses. Many species are widely cultivated as ornamentals , e.g., C. alba, C. canadensis, C. controversa, C. florida Linnaeus, C. kousa, C. mas, C. nuttallii Audubon, and C. stolonifera Michaux.[1]

Genus Cornus

Shrubs , trees , or herblike shrubs, precocious , coetaneous , or serotinous. Young shoots pubescent , rarely glabrous ; trichomes curly or straight, raised or appressed . Stem sympodial, rarely monopodial. Winter buds terminal or axillary , mixed or separate, covered or exposed. Petiole slightly furrowed adaxially; leaf blade narrowly elliptic , elliptic, oblong , or ovate , glabrous to densely pubescent, lateral veins actinodromous , often raised abaxially. Inflorescence formed in previous or current year; bracts covering inflorescence or not. Sepals 4, fused; teeth absent, minute, or variously triangular. Petals 4, free , spreading , oblong to orbicular , valvate . Filaments filiform or awn-shaped, longer than style, longer or shorter than petals; anthers whitish or yellow, rarely blue, red, or purplish, ellipsoid to narrowly ellipsoid or oblong, 2-loculed. Ovary obovoid , crowned by a disk. Fruit globose , ovoid , oblong, or ellipsoid, crowned by persistent calyx, disk, and style; stones globose, ovoid, ellipsoid, oblong, sometimes asymmetric , surface smooth or ribbed , apex rarely pitted .

Geographical distribution is the same as that of the family .

The classification of Cornus has long been debated. The ranks and circumscriptions of subgroups vary considerably among taxonomists. The current treatment retains Cornus in the broad sense as defined by Linnaeus and represents a synthesis of Ferguson (J. Arnold Arbor . 47: 100-105. 1966), Murrell (Syst. Bot. 18: 469-495. 1993), and Xiang (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 25: 125-131. 1987). This treatment agrees with recent molecular phylogenetic analyses of Cornus. The genus can be conveniently divided into distinct groups, all of which at one time or another have been recognized at full generic level. [2]

Physical Description

Habit: Deciduous.

Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February, March. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 20-30' tall.

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 15-20' apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 4.5 • Maximum pH: 6.0

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae () - Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae () - Cavalier-Smith, 1981
    - Phylum: Tracheophyta () - Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Vascular Plants
      - Subphylum: Euphyllophytina ()
        Infraphylum: Radiatopses () - Kenrick & Crane, 1997
        Class: Spermatopsida () - Brongniart, 1843
        Subclass: Asteridae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Cornanae () - Thorne Ex Reveal, 1996
        Order: Cornales () - Dumortier, 1829
        Family: Cornaceae () - Bercht. & J. Presl, 1825, nom. cons. - dogwoods
        Genus: Cornus () - C. Linnaeus, 1753 - Leatherleaf
        Specific epithet: kousa - Hance
        Cultivar: Prophet
        Botanical name: - Cornus kousa 'Prophet' Hance

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Cornus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 185 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

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Notes

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Contributors

Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed May 1, 2012.

Identifiers

Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 969046

Footnotes

Jenny Qiuyun Xiang & David E. Boufford "Cornaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 206. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
"Cornus". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 206. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

Cornus kousa 'Prophet'

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Cornaceae

Genus Cornus

Physical Description

Size/Age/Growth

Biology

Growth

Taxonomy

Similar Species

Members of the genus Cornus

More Info

Further Reading

Notes

Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes