Cornus asperifolia Michx. — Eastern roughleaf dogwood

Introduction

Eastern roughleaf dogwood is a southeastern United States shrub of wet woods and other moist Coastal Plain habitats. Its rough, hairy foliage and usually blue to bluish fruit help separate it from the more continental C. drummondii, whose mature fruits are typically whitish. Both species belong to Subgenus Thelycrania and have often been confused in historical treatments (Murrell & Poindexter 2016; Deasy et al. 2026).

Tree TSAR accepts C. asperifolia at species rank and keeps the microcarpa name complex with it. By contrast, C. asperifolia var. drummondii is homotypic with C. drummondii and therefore travels with that accepted species. The distinction matters because simply retaining every historical “asperifolia” combination beneath this page would merge two independently recognized biological species.

Horticultural and Agricultural Uses

Cornus asperifolia is not a major ornamental, but its wetland affinity and dense shrubby habit make it potentially useful in southeastern native-plant and ecological restoration settings. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wetland database rates it as a wetland-associated species in the regions where it is evaluated, consistent with its natural occurrence in moist sites.

For horticultural or restoration material, reliable identification is more important than cultivar selection. Fruiting material is particularly useful because mature fruit color provides a practical distinction from C. drummondii when combined with range and vegetative characters.

Conservation Concerns

The species is globally more restricted than many familiar North American shrubby dogwoods. Regional data from North Carolina, near the northeastern edge of the range, treat it as very rare and concentrated in a small part of the southern Coastal Plain, illustrating how local conservation status can be much more serious than the broad species-level picture (North Carolina Biodiversity Project 2026).

Conservation should focus on intact wet forests and associated Coastal Plain habitats, with careful verification of populations near the range margins. Because the species has been taxonomically confused with C. drummondii and C. foemina, vouchers and reproductive material are especially valuable for occurrence records used in status assessment.

Additional Information

Plants of the World Online (opens in a new tab) - Current Kew search for the accepted species and synonymy.
World Flora Online (opens in a new tab) - Species description and global taxonomic record.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List (opens in a new tab) - Wetland rating, range map, and synonymy.
Vascular Plants of North Carolina (opens in a new tab) - Regional distribution and conservation context near the northeastern range margin.

References and Further Reading

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)

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)

North Carolina Biodiversity Project (2026) Cornus asperifolia species account. Vascular Plants of North Carolina. Link (opens in a new tab)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2026) Cornus asperifolia Michx. National Wetland Plant List. Link (opens in a new tab)

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