Cornus sericea ssp. sericea

Native

Common

Moist. Swamps, marshes, fens, meadows, lake shores, river banks, ditches.

June to July

White

3′ to 10′

This plant gets its name from its smooth, reddish-purple stems. In the early spring the young twigs are bright red, sometimes green splotched with red. They fade to gray-green when they mature, then turn red again in the fall and winter. The bark is red to green, later turning light brown. The leaves are elliptic egg-shaped with 5 or 6 pairs of prominent veins and are puckered between the veins. The berries are dull white or lead-colored.