Cornus drummondii: rough-leaf dogwood [cornel, osier]

Family: Cornaceae [dogwood], allied with the ericoid group.

Form: large colonial shrub, with some stems up to 10-20 ft tall.

Range: central North America, especially the central and lower Mississippi drainage; frequent in base-rich regions of Kentucky.

Habitat: thickets and thin woods on base-rich soils; fairly wet to fairly dry conditions; roadsides, wood-pastures, stream-banks.

Consumers: fruits often rapidly taken by many birds in the fall; leaves moderately palatable to browsing mammals, and occasionally skeletonized by dogwood sawfly larvae, but plants recover quickly.

Growing notes: seed germinates well after winter; often dispersed into nearby woods or fields; with rapid potential growth and a habit somewhat similar to the Asian bush honeysuckles, this species offers the best native substitute for those invasive aliens in our woodlands.