Flowering Dogwood

Known for their lovely flower, Dogwood trees can be red, pink, or white. Their fruit is red to yellowish red, and these trees contain both mail and female reproductive organs meaning they are able to self-pollinate and produce seeds on their own. These trees, depending on the species, can be either a short bush or 25-foot tall tree. Dogwoods are popular landscaping trees because of their beautiful flowers; however, they are susceptible to insect damage and fungal diseases. Dogwood trees have an “alligator skin” pattern on their bark making them easy to identify. Once they have reached full maturity, the gray bark on the trunk cracks and appears as if it’s broken into small squares, which resembles “alligator skin.” Songbirds, game birds, skunks, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, foxes, deer, and bears can all feed on dogwoods as they are high in calcium and fat content. Although they are highly preferred by wildlife, dogwood fruit is not favored by humans due to their taste – some species of Dogwood fruit are even poisonous to humans.