Red Osier Dogwood, Western dogwood
Cornus sericea

Family: Cornaceae

What it is like

Red osier is a common ornamental garden plant with its deep red stems giving interest in the winter. It has potential as a fodder plant and as an industrial biomass crop. It makes an excellent hedge and provides effective erosion control on banks and slopes. It can grow in many different conditions, including wet soil. It is a fast-growing deciduous shrub to 2.5m (8ft) in full sun and semi-shade (light woodland). The fruit is eaten raw or cooked. It is juicy but bitter and unpalatable for many people. Native North Americans mix it with other fruits such as Juneberries (Amelanchier spp) and then dry it for winter use. Red osier was widely employed by several native North American Indian tribes who valued it especially for its astringent and tonic bark, using it both internally and externally to treat diarrhoea, fevers, skin problems etc. It is little used in modern herbalism. The cultivar ‘Flaviramea’ has been recommended. Berries are produced in the summer. Red osier is noted as a good Carbon Farming Solution plant. It can be coppiced, used as fodder and act as a living fence. It is a industrial biomass crop.

Cornus sericea is a deciduous Shrub growing to 2.5 m (8ft) by 4 m (13ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 2 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to June. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 2.5

Where it is found

Shores and thickets. Along streams, rivers and moist sites, 450 - 2700 metres.

N. America - Newfoundland to New York, west to Alaska and California. Naturalized in Britain.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Fruit - raw or cooked. Juicy. Bitter and unpalatable according to some reports, it was mixed with other fruits such as juneberries (Amelanchier spp) and then dried for winter use by native North Americans. The fruit can cause nausea. The fruit is up to 9mm in diameter. Seed. No more details are given, but the seeds are quite small and woody, looking rather less than edible. An edible oil is obtained from the seed.

Oil: Oil

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicine

Rating: 2

Red osier dogwood was widely employed by several native North American Indian tribes who valued it especially for its astringent and tonic bark, using it both internally and externally to treat diarrhoea, fevers, skin problems etc. It is little used in modern herbalism. The bark and the root bark are analgesic, astringent, febrifuge, purgative, slightly stimulant and tonic. Drying the bark removes its tendency to purge. A decoction has been used in the treatment of headaches, diarrhoea, coughs, colds and fevers. Externally, the decoction has been used as a wash for sore eyes, styes and other infections and also to treat skin complaints such as poison ivy rash and ulcers. The bark shavings have been applied as a dressing on wounds to stop the bleeding. A poultice of the soaked inner bark, combined with ashes, has been used to alleviate pain. The plant is said to have cured hydrophobia.

Analgesic: Relieves pain.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Stimulant: Excites or quickens activity of the physiological processes. Faster acting than a tonic but differing from a narcotic in that it does not give a false sense of well-being.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Other

Rating: 4

A fibre obtained from the bark is used as cordage. The bark can be twisted into a rope. The powdered bark has been used as a toothpowder to preserve the gums and keep the teeth white. An oil obtained from the seed burns well and can be used in lighting. A red dye can be obtained from the bark mixed with cedar ashes. The branches are pliable, they are used as rims in basket making. The stem wood is very tough and flexible. Plants can be grown as a tall ground cover for colonising large areas. The cultivar 'Flaviramea' has been recommended. Red osier is noted as a good Carbon Farming Solution plant. It can be coppiced, used as fodder and act as a living fence. It is a industrial biomass crop.

Basketry: Plant used in making baskets and other items such as chairs. Includes plants that are only used as an ornamental addition.

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Teeth: Plants used to clean and care for the teeth.

Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Attracts Wildlife: Plants noted for attracting wildlife

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Ground cover: Ground Cover

How it is grown

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in any soil of good or moderate fertility, ranging from acid to shallow chalk. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a moist soil and a position in sun or partial shade. Succeeds in poorly drained soils. Plants are hardy to about -35°c. A rampant suckering shrub. A number of cultivars have been developed for their ornamental value. This species is closely allied to C. alba. The flowers are very attractive to bees. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 8 through 1. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is multistemmed with multiple stems from the crown.

Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame or in an outdoors seedbed if there is sufficient seed. The seed must be separated from the fruit flesh since this contains germination inhibitors. Stored seed should be cold stratified for 3 - 4 months and sown as early as possible in the year. Scarification may also help as may a period of warm stratification before the cold stratification. Germination, especially of stored seed, can be very slow, taking 18 months or more. Prick out the seedlings of cold-frame sown seeds into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow the plants on for their first winter in a greenhouse, planting out in the spring after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe side shoots, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, taken with a heel if possible, autumn in a cold frame. High percentage. Layering of new growth in June/July. Takes 9 months.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Ground Cover; Bog Garden;

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 2-7

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

C. alba non L. C. stolonifera. Michx. Swida stolonifera. Thelycrania stolonifera.