Silky Dogwood
Cornus amomum

Family: Cornaceae

What it is like

Bloom Color: White, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Oval, Rounded.

Cornus amomum is a deciduous Shrub growing to 3 m (9ft 10in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5. It is in flower in July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. 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 and can grow in very alkaline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 3

Where it is found

Swamps and damp thickets. Low woods and along the sides of streams.

Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Ontario, south to Florida and Texas.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 1

Fruit - raw or cooked. Said to be very good to eat. The fruit is 8mm in diameter.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The dried root-bark is antiperiodic, astringent, stimulant (mild), tonic. The flowers are said to have similar properties. A tea or tincture of the astringent root bark has been used as a quinine substitute and also in the treatment of chronic diarrhoea. It has also been employed in the treatment of painful urination, chest congestion etc. The bark was also used as a poultice on external ulcers and as a wash for gonorrhoea sores. The glycoside 'cornin' found in the bark has astringent properties. The fruits are used as a bitter digestive tonic. A tincture of them has been used to restore tone to the stomach in cases of alcoholism.

Antiperiodic: Counteracts recurring illnesses such as malaria.

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

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

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

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.

Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.

VD: Used in the treatment of venereal disease

Other

Rating:

The powdered bark is used as a toothpowder.

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

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Border, Massing, Specimen, Woodland garden. An easily grown plant that thrives in Britain, it succeeds in any soil of good or moderate fertility, ranging from acid to shallow chalk. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Succeeds in full sun or light shade. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Special Features: Attracts birds, Attractive foliage, Not North American native, Naturalizing, Wetlands plant, Attracts butterflies, Attractive flowers or blooms.

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; Shady Edge;

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 4-8

Growth: Medium

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

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

C. coerulea. Swida amomum.