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)
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):
- Blackfruit Dogwood (Cornus sessilis) on Wikipedia
- Blackfruit Dogwood (Cornus sessiles) at CalFlora
- Blackfruit Dogwood (Cornus sessilis) at Las Piliate Nursery
- California Spikenard and Elk Clover (Aralia californica)
- Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica)
- California Pipevine/California Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia californica)
- Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)
- Begonia Rex (Painted-leaf begonia)
- Leonotis leonurus
- Matilija Poppy (Romneya)
- Melocactus matanzanus (Turk’s Cap Cactus)
- Coleus “Redhead”
- Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’
- Bacopa monnieri (Water hyssop)
- Lycoris squamigera (Naked Lady Lily)
- Kong Coleus (Plectranthus/Solenostemon scutellarioides “Kong Series”)
- Crassula plegmatoides
- Agave victoriae-reginae
- Mountain Cornflower (Centaurea montana)
- Euphorbia ‘Black Bird’
- Firecracker vine (Ipomoea lobata)
- Eryngium yuccifolium
- Dahlia ‘Karma Choc’
- Echeveria Agavoides
- Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticosa)
- Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)
- Seaside Daisy, Beach Aster (Erigeron glaucus)
- Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
- California Lilac (Ceanothus)
- Bigberry Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca)
- Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana)
- Malva Rosa (Lavatera assurgentiflora)
- Baby Blue-Eyes (Nemophila)
- Coral Bells or Alum Root (Heuchera)
- Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens)
- Echeveria ‘Lola’
- View all past “Interesting Plant” posts
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