The Gardens’ Pacific Dogwoods are found by Kiosks 3, 5, 11, and 12. This tree’s leaves are deciduous, wedge-shaped at the base and although oval, larger toward the tip and arranged opposite of each other. It is often shrub-like, but it can grow to 20’ in height and/or into a sprawling shape. Perhaps the NW’s most beautiful tree, it is covered with
showy white flowers in the Spring. In the Autumn, its fruit appears as clusters of red berries sitting on a seed cushion. Dogwoods are dying throughout the NW, infected with a fungus that causes bark blisters with purple or reddish borders. The first sign of infection are tan spots on the leaves. All species are just one mutation, a killer disease, or a non-native insect away from extinction. But then that can be said for humans as the history of Native Americans attest and our early 2020 Covid scare confirmed. Pacific Dogwood, also called Western Flowering Dogwood, is often found in understory areas. A tree and a member of the Cornaceae Family. Pilchuck Learning Center’s sponsored Western Washington State University SAM Project extinction possibility is slight; abundant, native to Cascadia, extinction probability exists however if it follows northeastern Florida’s experience with their dogwood fungi. Plant these natives singly; planting them too close together may encourage their fungus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus_nuttallii
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CONU4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzagrhgvZ3E
http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Cornus+nuttallii
https://www.plc215.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Kiosk-12.pdf
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/home-0garden/2020/03/05/where-0have-0all-dogwoods-gone/4957449002/
Best answer:
What other threat besides fungi, using Florida’s experience, appears to be contributing to native dogwoods’ demise?
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