Oval and pointed, in opposite pairs, with smooth edges and three or four veins a side curving round to the tip.
Native · Up to 10 m
Dogwood
Cornus sanguinea · Cornaceae
Dogwood is a bushy shrub, common in hedges and scrub on chalk. In winter its bare shoots are crimson where the sun reaches them and lime-green in the shade.
Know it byLeavesOval and pointed, in opposite pairs, with smooth edges.
FlowersSmall and dull, four petals, heads 3 to 5 cm, a heavy smell.
BerriesRound, purplish black when ripe, about 7 mm, in loose clusters.
LeavesOval and pointed, in opposite pairs, with smooth edges.FlowersSmall and dull, four petals, heads 3 to 5 cm, a heavy smell.BerriesRound, purplish black when ripe, about 7 mm, in loose clusters.Then check · TwigsSlim, straight and shiny, crimson on the sunny side and lime-green in the shade, with black, bristle-like buds on short stalks.
How to identify a dogwood
Small, dull white flowers with four petals, crowded into flat-topped heads 3 to 5 cm across, with a heavy smell.
Round and purplish black when ripe, about 7 mm across, in loose clusters on dark red stalks.
Learn the dogwood in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely
Every part, in photographs
Barry Walter, CC BY 4.0
Leanne Dempsey, CC BY 4.0When to look
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In leaf
Flowers
Berries
In leaf: April to November · Flowers: May to June · Berries: July to September
Where you’ll find it
Hedges, scrub and the edges of woods, most of all on chalk and limestone. It grows thickest in the scrub on chalk downs, and does well on heavy clay too. It is also much planted, most of all along roadside verges.
What it’s mistaken for
- SpindleBoth grow in hedges, with leaves in opposite pairs and four-petalled flowers, and they are easily muddled while in leaf. Twig. Dogwood: shiny, crimson in sun, lime-green in shade. Spindle: deep green all winter, slightly square.
In the app
There’s more of the dogwood in Treely
- Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
- Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
- A short round each dayUntil you know the dogwood on sight, from any side
- Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: Leanne Dempsey (CC BY 4.0), ben_deed (CC0), Barry Walter (CC BY 4.0), nick88 (CC0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.