Cornaceae

Dogwood Family

Red-osier Dogwood

FAMILY: Dogwood family (Cornaceae) – Cornus genus.

SPECIES: Red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea L. ssp. sericea = Cornus stolonifera Michx.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Warning! Although the berry-like fruits (drupes) of red-osier dogwood are edible in small amounts, they’re strongly purgative and potentially toxic. Consuming more than a handful is not advised.

Red-osier dogwood (C. sericea) fruits rank among the worst wild foods. The flavor is horrendous and the texture is repulsive. Foragers seeking “an experience in flavor” to further educate their palates may discover satisfaction in dogwood fruits. Otherwise, every indication of the flavor sternly suggests, “Find something else to eat.” The flavor is simply bad, and any progress towards palatable is offset by the slimy texture. A pleasant tang and fruity essence represent red-osier dogwood’s only claim to edibility. Acrid, astringent, soapy, and resinous qualities are minimal. Simmering yields a cloudy white broth with a tomato-like accent. The broth tastes fairly good. Dried fruits turn light brown and partially translucent. After maturing in mid to late summer, the fruits only persist for a few weeks. Most of them disappear before the leaves turn burgundy wine. Red-osier dogwood fruits are abundant and reliable. These traits made them important to Native Americans in the northwestern United States, but their overall value to modern-day foragers is minimal.

NOTES: Native Americans used various parts of red-osier dogwood to make clubs, throwing sticks, baskets, traps, nets, utensils, and other items. Fine shreds of the inner bark were toasted and added to herbal smoking mixtures (Hart p. 39). The smoke of dogwood was said to be aromatic, pungent, and calming. I’ve never smoked red-osier dogwood bark and considering the toxic nature of the shrub I wouldn’t recommend smoking it.

IDENTIFICATION: The Cornus genus is represented by about 20 species in the United States, of which only 1 occurs in the Southwest, Great Basin, and Rocky Mountains. No other shrubs have a similar appearance.

Description of red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea): FORM thornless, deciduous shrub about 1-3 meters tall; BRANCHES often red at the tips; LEAVES simple; opposite; blades lance-ovate; margins entire; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary inferior, and arranged in head-like terminal clusters (cymes); sepals 4, minute; petals 4, free, white; styles 1; stigmas 1, head-like; stamens 4, alternate with the petals; FRUITS drupes white, rarely blue; stones 1-2 chambered; HABITAT moist mountain canyons, especially along streams; across the northern United States, southward to Arizona and New Mexico and elsewhere; blooming May to July.

REFERENCES: Red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea = Cornus stolonifera): fruits Couplan (pp. 282-283), Derig (p. 36), Earle (p. 57), Hart (p. 39), Moerman (p. 90), Tilford (p. 124), Vizgirdas (p. 82), and Yanovski (p. 49).