Giant dogwood, Table dogwood, Tabletop dogwood
Cornus controversa

Family: Cornaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 12 m tall. It has a straight trunk with branches in tiers. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are dark green. They turn purple in autumn. The leaves are glossy and strongly veined. They are arranged alternately on the red twigs. The flowers occur in flat clusters. They are white and about 10 cm across. The fruit are bluish-black. They are shiny.

There are about 45 Cornus species. The fruit is used for oil for folk medicine.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is native to East Asia. It does best in light to medium, well-drained soils. It needs an open sunny position. It is resistant to frost but sensitive to drought. It suits hardiness zones 5-8. Burnie Rhodo garden. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Bhutan, Canada, China (country/location of origin), Himalayas, India, Japan (country/location of origin), Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, North America, SE Asia, Taiwan, Tasmania

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten raw.

Edible parts

Fruit, sap

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed.

Its other names

Local names

Cheungcheungnamu, Deng tai shu

Synonyms

Bothrocaryum controversum (Hemsley) Pojarkova; Bothrocaryum longipetiolatum (Hayata) Pojarkova; Cornus brachypoda Miquel (1865), not C. A. Meyer (1845); Cornus controversa Hemsley. var. angustifolia Wangerin; Cornus ignorata auct. non C. Koch (1867); Cornus longipetiolata Hayata; Cornus macrophylla auct. non Wallich (1820); Cornus obovata Thunberg, Cornus sanguinea auct. non Linnaeus: Thunberg (1784), not Linnaeus (1753); Swjda (Swida) controversa (Hemsley) Sojak.; Swida controversa (Hemsley) Moldenke;