Starting a series within a series, I will be highlighting shade plants that grow well underneath trees, especially California Live Oak. I have a deep shade area beneath many trees here in my own garden and i am constantly looking for plants that can help green this area. — Douglas

Hmmm, could I transplant a northern California native down to our hotter and dryer San Fernando Valley climate? Not sure, but it requires a bit more research, I think. I can offer more water down here, but the overwhelming heat of the summer might not be the best for it.

Blackfruit Dogwood (Cornus sessilis)

Blackfruit Dogwood (Cornus sessilis)

Photo: Las Pilitas Nursery

What are your thoughts on this Interesting Plant? Drop a note in the comments!

Cornus sessilis is a species of dogwood known by the common names blackfruit cornel, blackfruit dogwood, and miner’s dogwood. This is a shrub or small tree which is endemic tonorthern California, where it grows along streambanks in the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and the coastal mountain ranges. It is a tree of the redwood understory in its native range. This dogwood may approach five meters in height at maximum. It is deciduous, bearing deeply veined oval green leaves in season which turn red before falling. Its inflorescence is a cluster of tiny greenish-yellow flowers surrounded by thick, pointed bracts. The fruit is a round drupe about a centimeter wide which is white when new and gradually turns shiny black. The fruit attracts many birds. — Wikipedia

More information on Blackfruit Dogwood (Cornus sessilis):

 

 
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Previously in the Interesting Plant series: 

Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas

Read more on this topic:

  1. Interesting Plant: Red Stick Dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’)
  2. Interesting Plant: Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
  3. Interesting Plant: California Spikenard and Elk Clover (Aralia californica)
  4. Garden Alphabet: Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
  5. Interesting Plant: Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica)