Common Name:

silky dogwood, silky cornel

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Cornus amomum

Family:

Cornaceae

Form:

shrub

Size:

to 10 ft

Life Span:

long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

deciduous

Noted For:

Recommended Uses:

Wet site hedge, wet site specimen plant especially if a clump is suitable. Rarely planted but considerable value especially in areas where most shrubs are bare during the winter.

Considerations:

Availability:

Propagation:

seed, softwood cuttings

Light:

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Stays wet ---to--- Usually moist, occasional inundation

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Clay, Loam

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

8A, 8B

Wildlife:

birds and small mammals consume the fruit

Larval host for cecropia silkmoth (Hyalophora cecropia) and spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon). Attracts long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, and butterflies.

Native Habitats:

Riverine swamps, natural levees along streams, lake margins. Typically in areas with shallow annual inundation, typically during the winter/early spring season.

Natural Range in Florida:

Visit the USF Libraries Atlas of Florida Plants

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Has considerable winter interest as its bark is smooth and red.