The flowering dogwood is Virginia’s state tree and official flower, chosen for its beauty and abundance. It grows up to 40 feet tall, with gray or brown bark and green leaves. It blooms in April and May with small white or pale yellow flowers surrounded by pink or white bracts.
Virginia’s state tree is the flowering dogwood. This plant is native to the eastern United States, southeastern regions of Canada, and some places in eastern Mexico. It is found in a wide range of habitats, often sheltered under larger trees.
In March of 1918, the flowering dogwood was selected as the state tree of Virginia, beating out the Virginia creeper. Chosen for the beauty of its flowers and its statewide abundance, the flowering dogwood is also known as the floral emblem of the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving as both the official state tree and official flower.
A small tree, the Virginia state tree reaches a height of only 30 to 40 feet (9.1 to 12.2 meters). When fully grown, the branches of this tree often extend wider than 30 feet (9.1 meters), although the tree’s trunk remains relatively thin, usually no more than 1 foot (30.5 centimeters) in diameter. The bark of the tree is gray or brown in color and the leaves are green and about 5 centimeters long. Flowering dogwood is a deciduous tree and sheds its leaves each winter.
The Virginia state tree grows well in a wide range of soil types and at a range of elevations. It can be found both in moist soil around streams and in drier soil on hillsides. Between the months of April and May, flowers bloom on the trees, appearing before the leaves. Once the tree has blossomed, the leaves grow back together with a bright red drupe, which is edible by many animal species. In the autumn the drupes were eaten, the seeds dispersed and the leaves began to fall in preparation for winter.
The flowers of the Virginia state tree are themselves quite small, but their arrangement on the tree makes it appear to be covered in large blossoms. Dogwood flowers are small, with petals only about 0.15 inches (4 millimeters) long. These petals are white or a pale shade of yellow and grouped in clusters of about 20. Surrounding the outside of these clusters of flowers are four large bracts, which are what many people mistakenly call the dogwood tree petals in flower. The bracts come in white or shades of pink, and the Virginia state tree can be any of these colors.
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