Flowering Dogwood: Cornus Florida

Taxonomic Classifications Flowering dogwood is a member of the genus Cornus within the family Cornaceae. The currently accepted scientific name is Cornus florida. The taxonomic classification for the flowering dogwood is the following: Plantae (plants) Embryophyta (higher plants) Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) Cornales Cornaceae (dogwoods) Cornus (dogwoods) Cornus florida Common names of the species include: flowering dogwood, cornel, false boxwood, Florida boxwood, arrow wood, and bunchberry (Wood Bin, 2005). Cornus florida is the aristocrat of native flowering trees. …

…swelling of the twig. Club galls can be controlled by pruning. Prune out galls before August and destroy them (MSU, 1999). Other insect problems may include leaf miners, scales, aphids, and twig girdlers. Leaf miners cause brown blister-like mines on the underside of leaves. The adult leaf miner skeletonizes the leaves. Scales can build up to large numbers before being detected. Aphids and twig girdlers may also be problems, but neither will kill the tree (MSU, 1999).