It's dogwood time in My Corner of the Ozarks. From mid-April to early May, the woodland understory, and many small town back yards are blessed with the showy blooms of the flowering dogwood, Cornus florida. There are several other species of dogwoods, but only one with showy white bracts (not petals). The flowering dogwood occurs from east Texas to New York and is very common in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks.
The flowering dogwood was named the Missouri State Tree in 1955 by the legislature seventy years ago. It is also the state tree of Virginia and North Carolina.
Many dogwoods decorate yards and byways.
Any excursion to the wooded countryside yields many spectacular views of our dogwoods.
The redbud, Cercis canadaensis, flowers just before the dogwood each spring. The range of the redbud is similar to flowering dogwood extending a little further north in the Midwest. The combination of dogwood and redbud in early April brings wonderful color to the forest understory.
Early spring is a time of beauty in My Corner of the Ozarks.
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