Round-leaf DogwoodÂ
Cornus rugosa
In a previous post I showed how to ID a dogwood down to its genus. Rounding out (yes, a pun) our discussion of the opposite-branched shrub dogwoods, is round-leaf dogwood.
QUICK WINTER ID + NOTES:Â Round-leaf dogwood is not a plant I’m very familiar with. I’ve only seen it out in the wild once, and I might have passed right by if I hadn’t been out searching specifically for dogwoods. Like the other dogwoods it has opposite branches and small, but long narrow terminal buds. The twigs are very distinctive, reminding me of neapolitan ice cream. The twigs are pink with brown splotches and small scattered stiff white hairs. Older growth is green with promient punctate lenticels. While most dogwoods are more aligned with wet soils, round-leaf dogwood is more similar to alternate-leaf dogwood in that it gets by much better in drier upland soils.
Identifying Characteristics
| HABITAT | Upland forests and rocky slopes |
| MATURE BARK | Greenish with prominent lenticels |
| TWIGS | Can be pinkish with chocolate-y spots, like neapolitan ice cream, covered sparsely with short, stiff, white hairs. |
| PITH | White |
| BUDS | Elongate, pink, stalked, sparse but stiff hairs |
| FLOWERS | Small white flowers in dense clusters |
| FRUITS | White to a lightish blue |
| SIMILAR SPECIES | More similar to some viburnums |
Research
Perhaps indicative of the relative sparseness of round-leaf dogwood, there is scant research that focuses directly on the species. Most studies incidentally mention round-leaf dogwood, as in a habitat analysis (link) of an area or studies looking at foraging patterns of deer (link 1, link 2), bear (link), or birds (link).
Gallery
Click images for full size photos
