Cornus amomum Mill. — Silky dogwood

Introduction

Silky dogwood is a deciduous wetland and riparian shrub of eastern North America, occurring in alluvial woods, wet meadows, marshes, ditches, and along watercourses. Its blue drupes, reddish-purple young stems, and silky reddish pubescence beneath the leaves are characteristic. The species belongs to Subgenus Thelycrania and is closely related to C. obliqua and western C. glabrata (Deasy et al. 2026; Lindelof et al. 2020).

The boundary with C. obliqua is biologically real but not always visually sharp. C. obliqua tends to have narrower leaves with paler undersides and rigid, appressed hairs, while C. amomum typically has broader leaves and softer reddish pubescence; intermediates occur where the ranges meet. Tree TSAR follows the locked type-based audit in routing the schuetzeana name cluster to C. obliqua, even though some current databases place those names under C. amomum.

Horticultural and Agricultural Uses

Cornus amomum is useful in naturalistic and restoration plantings where soils remain moist. Its suckering habit, tolerance of periodic wetness, flowers, and blue fruit make it suitable for stream edges, pond margins, wildlife plantings, and erosion-control situations rather than highly formal beds (Deasy et al. 2026).

The blue fruits are especially ornamental and support wildlife, but the species can spread into broad colonies. Landscape use is therefore most effective where that ecological behavior is an asset. Propagation and selection should preserve accurate identity because C. amomum has a long history of confusion with C. sericea and C. obliqua.

Conservation Concerns

Trees and Shrubs Online summarizes Cornus amomum as Least Concern across its broad eastern United States range. At the species level there is no evidence of an immediate global extinction risk (Deasy et al. 2026).

Wetland alteration, channel modification, and loss of riparian buffers can nevertheless affect local populations. Conservation and restoration collections should use regionally appropriate provenance, particularly where C. amomum meets C. obliqua and hybridization or introgression can complicate identification.

Additional Information

Trees and Shrubs Online (opens in a new tab) - Detailed species account, identification, ecology, and cultivation.
Plants of the World Online (opens in a new tab) - Accepted Kew treatment; note that its synonym placement differs from Tree TSAR for the schuetzeana cluster.
NatureServe Explorer (opens in a new tab) - North American conservation and ecological record.

References and Further Reading

Deasy M, Crowley D, Aldridge J, Chişu R (2026) Cornus amomum. Trees and Shrubs Online. Link (opens in a new tab)

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026) Cornus amomum Mill.. Plants of the World Online. Link (opens in a new tab)

Lindelof K, Lindo JA, Zhou W, Ji X, Xiang Q-Y (2020) Phylogenomics, biogeography, and evolution of the blue- or white-fruited dogwoods (Cornus) - Insights into morphological and ecological niche divergence following intercontinental geographic isolation. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 58(5): 604-645. Link (opens in a new tab)

Du Z-Y, Xiang Q-Y, Cheng J, Zhou W, Wang Q-F, Soltis DE, Soltis PS (2023) An updated phylogeny, biogeography, and PhyloCode-based classification of Cornaceae based on three sets of genomic data. American Journal of Botany 110(2): e16116. Link (opens in a new tab)

Murrell ZE, Poindexter DB (2016) Cornaceae. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds) Flora of North America North of Mexico, vol. 12. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford. Link (opens in a new tab)