Dogwoods. Guan Chen and Emily Donaldson

Transcription

1 Dogwoods Guan Chen and Emily Donaldson

2 Taxonomy Family: Cornaceae Genus: Cornus Dicots - joins ten genera bringing together 1,000 taxa for a few hundred plant species (Gayraud 27). Includes other ornamentals, apart from some exceptions that have edible fruits (Gayraud 27). High amounts of variability (e.g. in bark, bracts, flowers, leaf shape, etc.) Dogwoods range from medium-sized trees to multistemmed suckering (rhizomatous) woody shrubs to herbaceous, mat-forming plants (Cappiello 23).

3 Cornus mas - Cornelian Cherry Native to the Caucasus to Asia Minor (Gayraud 48) Cherries = fruit consumed in Europe and Mediterranean Wood = dense and sinks in water Eaten at the time of ancient Romans Drupes Toughest of all the Cornus Used for making tools and Roman javelins Over 33 different varieties! Images courtesy of Harvard University Herbaria and Nievre (from Wikipedia)

4 Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood Native to North America - eastern & central regions Famous showy bracts make for a highly prized ornamental Wood is hard, but prone to rot (Gayraud 66) Flowers in alternating years (67) Considered the most spectacular of the native species (Gayraud 66). Actual flowers only visited by the Spring Azure butterfly Fruits are toxic to humans Many varieties (~75-100)

5 Cornus kousa - Korean Dogwood Native to Korea and Japan (analogous to Cornus florida, but in Asia) Resistant to Discula disease and powdery mildew Frequently used as rootstock for C.florida Distinct fruits (drupes), but resemble strawberries (Gayraud 120) Many varieties (~75-100)

6 Discula destructiva - Dogwood Anthracnose 1970s discovered in Seattle & New York (Gayraud 197) Fungal pathogen 50-90% mortality rate C. florida now endangered

7 Human Use and Cultivation Harvard Yard! Important for commencement Three varieties found in the Yard flower around May/June Dogwoods in the kitchen (Gayraud 204) Cornelian cherries found in Greek & Latin mythologies Recently making a comeback, especially in Europe Pielach Valley (close to Vienna) is the cornelian cherry valley Large festival held in late September, celebrating fruit and crowning Queen of the Dirndls

8 Cultural Impact Ancient Greece - Kraneia One of eight hamadryads, illustrating central role Cornus mas played in Greek society Records show that Cornelian cherries were consumed as medicine and food in Roman & Greek society 15th century: Culpeper s Complete Herbal Cornel-Tree (dogberry) = Cornus sanguinea Under Venus: cooling, good for hysteria 19th century: Mechanical loom -> Industrial Revolution Cornus mas sturdy wood used for many tools and implements

9 Medicinal Uses Native Americans used quinine in C. florida to treat malaria Cornus officinalus: in Korea, 산수유 used for erectile dysfunction Found in bark and roots (Gayraud 66). Also used during the Civil War Also used in China and Japan (山茱萸科) C. mas used as fever-reducer, astringent (Gayraud 202) Cornelian cherries extremely rich in Vitamin C, D, and A Many, many medieval recipes for use (H. Leclerc, Hildegard of Bingen, etc.)

10 Horticulture Tennessee nursery receives 20 to 30 million dollars annually from C. florida sales Cultivars: Bract color Blooming time & season Kousa/florida hybrids for disease prevention and resistance

11 Biofuels - Cornus wilsoniana Cultivated in China for biofuel 10,000 hectares currently being used In vitro shoot culture method being developed for propagation of high-yield strains of C. wilsonia (Du 2012)

12 Sources Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpeper s Complete Herbal: Consisting of a Comprehensive Description of Nearly All Herbs with Their Medicinal Properties and Directions for Compounding the Medicines Extracted from Them. London: W. Foulsham, Print. Cappiello, Paul, and Don Shadow. Dogwoods: The Genus Cornus. Portland, Or.: Timber, Print. Du, Wei, and De-Hua Liu. Biodiesel from Conventional Foodstocks. Biotechnology in China III: Biofuels and Bioenergy Accessed online. < id=p7e5bqaaqbaj&pg=pa56&lpg=pa56&dq=cornus+wilsoniana+biofuel&source=bl&ots=5spxpxubsp&sig=qycjirolbmuzn8mgjs4gxq_0z74 &hl=en&sa=x&ved=0ahukewj2nfsanlvjahubxh4khuesbfoq6aeirzal#v=onepage&q=cornus%20wilsoniana%20biofuel&f=false> Gayraud, Andre. A Monograph of the Genus Cornus. Pistoia: Giorgio Tesi, Print. Li, Yongxin, Xiaomin Wang, Jianjun Chen, Neng Cai, Huijie Zeng, Zhongquan Qiao, and Xiangying Wang. A method for micropropagation of Cornus wilsoniana: An important biofuel plant. Industrial Crops and Products, Volume 76, 15 Dec 2015, pp Accessed online. < sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s > Redlin, Scott C. Discula Destructiva sp. nov., Cause of Dogwood Anthracnose. Mycologia, 83(5), 1991, pp Accessed online. <http: // Trigiano, RK, MH Ament, MT Windham, and JK Moulton. Genetic Profiling of Red-Bracted Cornus kousa Cultivars Indicate Significant Cultivar Synonomy. HortScience, June 2004, vol. 39, no. 3 pp Accessed online. < pdf+html>