Dogwood

Introduction

Reference model of the genre Cornus, the dogwood is a shrub or small tree, a fruit easily found at the edge of woods and forests that grow in temperate climate regions.

Dogwood is currently used in the officinal sector for its purely astringent and tonic virtues, but its use is also known in the construction sector.
However, rather than being renowned for its phytotherapeutic properties, dogwood stands out for its wood, fruit and flowers. First of all, the wood is particularly resistant, solid and compact, thanks to the slow development of the plant; the fruits, comparable to elongated and sour cherries, lend themselves to becoming the protagonists of tasty preserves. Finally, the flowering of the dogwood, very special: the flowers bloom bravely in February, a period in which the remaining vegetation of the undergrowth is still dormant.

Generality

The dogwood is a typical species of Central and Eastern Europe; more precisely, the plant grows spontaneously at the limits of the Caucasus and Asia Minor, while in the Bel Paese the dogwood is typical of the Northern regions. We are talking about a plant that is both thermophilic (it adapts to living in warm environments) and xerophilous (it also adapts to arid and xeric environments), a lover of calcareous, shady and humid soils: the dogwood generally grows in small groups, only rarely is it a solitary plant.
The dogwood is grown mostly for ornamental and building purposes, but its edible and particular fruits are used in the kitchen to prepare jams. Particular is the dyeing use of the plant: the dogwood is in fact used for its coloring properties (in yellow). [Taken from Trees, by Luigi Fenaroli]

Botanical analysis

The dogwood proper is called Cornus mas and belongs to the family of Horny, which also includes dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), the Cornus officinale and the Cornus florida.
The table shows the peculiar characteristics of the other dogwood species.

Plant (botanical name) Short description Medicamentous virtues Cornus sanguinea It takes the name of "dogwood" for its particular red leaves and for the solid and reddish wood. Taken in excessive quantities, it can cause nausea and malaise.
The fruits are small drupes with dimensions comparable to those of peas or blueberries Febrifuge (decoction, dried root) Cornus officinale Deciduous plant up to 4 meters high cultivated mainly in Chinese territory; the fruits are berries tinged with blood red. The fruits are rich in tannins, iridoids and saponins. Emmenagogue drug, detoxifying, tonic. Counteracts premature ejaculation. (Chinese folk tradition) Cornus florida Typical plant of North America, distinguished by its very bitter bark.
Active ingredients: corine, resin, tannins, verbenaline, ac. Betulico, ac. Gallic. Powder and dried root:
Tonic, stimulating
Astringent
Useful in case of headache
Laxative (mild)
Also used in homeopathy

The best known dogwood, Cornus mas precisely, it is a shrub with deciduous leaves, which only hardly exceeds 4 meters in height. Dogwood is very common among mountain shrubs, and grows spontaneously in woodlands between 500 and 1,200 meters above sea level. The stem it is covered with a greenish, sometimes reddish bark, comparable to that of Cornus sanguinea: dogwood wood is particularly in demand for turning activities. The leaves, ovate and whole, are opposite, and covered with a thin veil of down, both on the lower and upper page. The flowers of the dogwood plant are small, yellow and hermaphrodite, and boldly bloom in February or March, painting the vegetation, still bare. The fruits, the carnelian, are small ovate-oblong pendulous drupes, with a sour but pleasant taste, which contain a small woody seed in the heart.

Phytotherapeutic properties

The drug consists of the bark and fruits of the dogwood plant: therefore tannins, mucilages and malic acid are obtained. The tannins give the dogwood astringent, febrifugal and antidiarrheal properties. The decoction of dogwood is well suited to solve gastrointestinal problems.

Summary

To fix the concepts

Dogwood: presentation of the tree Shrub or small tree, fruit easily found at the edge of woods and forests of areas with a temperate climate Distinctive features of dogwood Wood → particularly resistant, solid and compact
Fruits (comparable to elongated and sour cherries) → protagonists of tasty preserves
Flowers → bloom bravely in February, when the remaining vegetation of the undergrowth is still dormant Dogwood: diffusion

• Spontaneous growth: on the edge of the Caucasus and Asia Minor
• Distribution: Central and Eastern Europe
• Italy: cultivation reserved for the northern regions

Dogwood: climate and soil

• Thermophilic and xerophilic plant
• Soils: calcareous, shady, humid
• Cultivation: for ornamental, phytotherapeutic, building and food purposes

Dogwood: curiosity Also cultivated for its dyeing properties Dogwood: known varieties

• Cornus mas
• Cornus sanguinea
• Cornus officinale
• Cornus florida

Common dogwood: Cornus mas

• Family: Horny
• Height: 4 meters
• Distribution: mountain shrubs. It grows spontaneously in woodlands between 500 and 1,200 meters above sea level
• Stem: covered with a greenish bark, sometimes reddish, comparable to that of Cornus sanguinea
• Wood: required for turning activities
• Leaves: ovate, whole, opposite and covered with a thin veil of down
• Flowers: small, yellow and hermaphrodite
• Seed: small woody seed

Phytotherapeutic properties of dogwood

• Drug: bark and fruits of dogwood
• Chemical components: tannins, mucilages and malic acid
• Properties: astringent, febrifugal and antidiarrheal
• Decoction: useful for relieving gastrointestinal problems.

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