Cornus nuttallii Audubon — Pacific flowering dogwood

Introduction

Pacific flowering dogwood is the large-bracted forest dogwood of western North America. It can become a substantial tree in moist Pacific forests, producing terminal flower heads usually surrounded by six large white bracts, followed by tightly clustered red drupes. It differs from eastern C. florida in details of bud protection, bark, bract number, and fruit arrangement, and is the westernmost member of subgenus Cynoxylon (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2016; Deasy et al. 2026).

Tree TSAR uses the authorship Cornus nuttallii Audubon. Audubon’s 1838 Ornithological Biography account constitutes the valid publication; the earlier plate did not validly establish the name. That nomenclatural point does not alter the biological circumscription.

The species has contributed to two formally named hybrids of major horticultural significance: C. × transamericana with C. florida and C. × elwinortonii with C. kousa. These crosses make some of the species’ large-bracted ornamental character available in plants that may be easier to grow than pure C. nuttallii.

Horticultural and Agricultural Uses

Pacific flowering dogwood is spectacular but notoriously exacting in cultivation outside its native climatic envelope. It prefers moist, well-drained soils, reliable summer moisture, good air circulation, and a sheltered position; establishment can be difficult, and apparently healthy specimens may decline abruptly. In cool maritime gardens with suitable soils it can nevertheless become a handsome flowering tree (Deasy et al. 2026).

The species has a modest cultivar history, but its greatest horticultural contribution may be as a parent. Hybrids with C. florida and C. kousa combine large involucres with traits that improve garden performance. As with all named cultivars and hybrids, clonal propagation is required to preserve the selected phenotype.

Conservation Concerns

Cornus nuttallii is assessed globally as Least Concern, reflecting a broad western North American range. The global category does not eliminate disease concerns. Dogwood anthracnose was first recognized as a destructive disease on Pacific dogwood in the late twentieth century and can cause severe mortality, particularly in cool, moist forest conditions (Daughtrey et al. 1996; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2026).

Forest conservation should therefore retain genetically diverse populations across the species’ climatic and geographic range while monitoring disease effects. Horticultural hybrids are valuable landscape material but cannot substitute for the ecological role and evolutionary diversity of native C. nuttallii populations.

Additional Information

Trees and Shrubs Online (opens in a new tab) — Detailed morphology, horticulture, nomenclature, and cultivar coverage.
Plants of the World Online (opens in a new tab) — Accepted species, native range, and global conservation data.
Flora of North America (opens in a new tab) — North American taxonomic treatment.

References and Further Reading

Daughtrey ML, Hibben CR, Britton KO, Windham MT, Redlin SC (1996) Dogwood anthracnose: Understanding a disease new to North America. Plant Disease 80(4): 349–358. https://doi.org/10.1094/PD-80-0349 (opens in a new tab)

Deasy M, Crowley D, Aldridge J, Chişu R (2026) Cornus nuttallii. Trees and Shrubs Online. https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/cornus/cornus-nuttallii/ (opens in a new tab)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2016) Cornus nuttallii. Flora of North America North of Mexico, Vol. 12. Oxford University Press, New York. https://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242443981 (opens in a new tab)

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026) Cornus nuttallii Audubon. Plants of the World Online. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:66154-2 (opens in a new tab)