Cornus koehneana Wangerin — Sichuan-Shaanxi dogwood

Introduction

Sichuan-Shaanxi dogwood is a little-known deciduous tree of inland China, recorded from mixed forests in valleys and on mountain slopes. Flora of China describes trees roughly 6-10 m tall from the Sichuan-Shaanxi-Shanxi region and notes that the species has historically been known from relatively few specimens (Xiang & Boufford 2005).

Cornus koehneana is extremely close to C. walteri; differences in inflorescence architecture and other subtle characters have supported separate treatment, but the boundary has not received the population-genomic sampling it deserves. Tree TSAR therefore accepts both species while retaining their relationship as an explicit research watch. POWO likewise currently accepts C. koehneana (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2026).

Horticultural and Agricultural Uses

No established horticultural role is documented for Sichuan-Shaanxi dogwood, and modern dendrological sources describe it as effectively unknown in cultivation. That scarcity makes verified living material potentially valuable for study rather than a basis for speculative garden recommendations.

Any future introductions should preserve precise locality, altitude, and voucher information. Such collections could directly test whether the morphological distinction from C. walteri corresponds to stable population structure.

Conservation Concerns

No formal species-specific global threat assessment is emphasized in the sources reviewed here. The limited specimen and cultivation record should not be equated automatically with rarity in the wild, but it does make the true distribution and abundance difficult to assess. Targeted field sampling across Sichuan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and adjacent areas would improve both conservation and taxonomy.

Additional Information

Plants of the World Online (opens in a new tab) - Accepted global backbone and native range.
Flora of China (opens in a new tab) - Regional description and comparison with C. walteri.
International Plant Names Index (opens in a new tab) - Nomenclatural record search.

References and Further Reading

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026) Cornus koehneana Wangerin. Plants of the World Online. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:271600-1 (opens in a new tab)

Xiang Q-Y, Boufford DE (2005) Cornaceae. In: Wu ZY, Raven PH, Hong DY (eds) Flora of China 14. Science Press, Beijing & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, pp. 206-221. https://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2 (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. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16116 (opens in a new tab)