Editing Cornus florida (section)

==Description==
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2023}}
Flowering dogwood is a small [[deciduous]] [[tree]] growing to {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} high, often wider than it is tall when mature, with a trunk diameter of up to {{convert|30|cm|ft|0|abbr=on}}. A 10-year-old tree will stand about {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are opposite, simple, ovate, {{convert|6|–|13|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4|–|6|cm|abbr=on}} broad, with an apparently entire margin (actually very finely toothed, under a lens); they turn a rich red-brown in fall.

Flowering dogwood attains its greatest size and growth potential in the Upper South, sometimes up to 40 feet in height. At the northern end of its range, heights of 30–33 feet are more typical. Hot, humid summer weather is necessary for new growth to harden off in the fall.

The maximum lifespan of ''C. florida'' is about 80 years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flowering Dogwood|url=https://bernheim.org/learn/trees-plants/bernheim-select-urban-trees/flowering-dogwood/#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20plant%20with,USDA%20Zones%205%20to%209.|url-status=live|access-date=February 19, 2021|website=Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927122123/https://bernheim.org/learn/trees-plants/bernheim-select-urban-trees/flowering-dogwood/ |archive-date=September 27, 2020 }}</ref>

The [[flower]]s are individually small, inconspicuous, and hermaphroditic, with four, greenish-yellow petals (not bracts) {{convert|4|mm|abbr=on}} long. Around 20 flowers are produced in a dense, rounded, [[umbel]]-shaped [[inflorescence]], {{convert|1|–|2|cm|abbr=on}} in diameter. This central [[flower head]] is surrounded by four conspicuous large white, pink or red bracts (not petals), each bract {{convert|3|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2.5|cm|abbr=on}} broad, rounded, and often with a distinct notch at the apex.

When in the wild they can typically be found at the forest edge and frequently on dry ridges. While most of the wild trees have white bracts, some selected [[cultivar]]s of this tree also have pink bracts, some even almost a true red. They typically flower in early April in the southern part of their range, to late April or early May in northern and high altitude areas. The similar [[Kousa dogwood]] (''[[Cornus kousa]]''), native to [[Asia]], flowers about a month later.

The [[fruit]] is a cluster of two to ten separate [[drupe]]s, (fused in ''Cornus kousa''), each {{convert|10|–|15|mm|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|8|mm|abbr=on}} wide, which ripen in the late summer and the early fall to a bright red, or occasionally yellow with a rosy blush. They are an important food source for dozens of species of [[bird]]s, which then distribute the [[seed]]s. They are also a larval host plant for several moth varieties, including ''[[Eudeilinia herminiata]]'', the [[Euthyatira pudens|dogwood thyatirid moth]],  ''[[Antispila cornifoliella]]'', the [[Parasa indetermina|stinging rose moth]], the [[Lacanobia grandis|grand arches moth]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bugguide.net/node/view/23844|title=Lacanobis grandis species information|website=bugguide.net}}</ref> the pecan bark borer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bugguide.net/node/view/122553|title=Species Synanthedon geliformis - Pecan Bark Borer - Hodges#2547|website=bugguide.net}}</ref>  the [[Synanthedon scitula|dogwood borer]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bugguide.net/node/view/29056|title=Species Synanthedon scitula - Dogwood Borer - Hodges#2549|website=bugguide.net}}</ref> the [[Choristoneura rosaceana|rosaceous leaf roller]], the [[Epinotia lindana|diamondback epinotia moth]], [[Celastrina ladon|spring azures]],<ref name="The Joy of Butterfly Host Plants">{{cite news |last1=Adelman |first1=Lauren |title=The Joy of Butterfly Host Plants |url=https://www.lewisginter.org/butterfly-host-plants/ |newspaper=Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden |date=July 5, 2017 |access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref> [[cecropia]] moths,<ref name="The Joy of Butterfly Host Plants"/> and the [[Automeris io|Io moth]].  While not poisonous to humans, the fruit is extremely sour and unpleasant-tasting.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} Flowering dogwood is monoecious, meaning the tree has both male and female flowers, and all trees will produce fruit.
[[File:2014-10-30 10 36 30 Flowering Dogwood foliage during autumn on Glen Mawr Drive in Ewing, New Jersey.JPG|thumb|Foliage during autumn]]
<gallery>
File:Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida Bark 2000px.jpg|Bark
File:Cornus florida in Eastwoodhill Arboretum (3).jpg|Leaf
File:Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida Flower High DoF Cropped.JPG|Flower head with four large bracts
File:Dogwood flower closeup 20080427 141400 1 crop sharp.png|Close-up of four-petaled flowers
File:Benthamidia florida8.jpg|Fruits
File:Cornus florida seeds.jpg|Seeds
</gallery>