The _leaves_ are opposite, ovate, 3 to 5 inches long, 2 to 3 inches
wide, pointed, entire or wavy on the margin, bright green above, pale
green or grayish beneath.
The _flowers_, which unfold from the conspicuous round, grayish, winter
flower buds before the leaves come out, are small greenish-yellow,
arranged in dense heads surrounded by large white or rarely pinkish
petal-like bracts, which give the appearance of large spreading flowers
2 to 4 inches across.
The _fruit_ is a bright scarlet "berry", 1/2 inch long and containing a
hard nutlet in which are 1 or 2 seeds. Usually several fruits, or
"berries", are contained in one head. They are relished by birds,
squirrels and other animals.
The _wood_ is hard, heavy, strong, very close-grained, brown to red in
color. It is in great demand for cotton-mill machinery, turnery handles
and forms. One other tree has quite similar wood--the persimmon.
The dogwood, with its masses of early spring flowers, its dark red
autumn foliage and its bright red berries, is probably our most
ornamental native tree. It should be used much more extensively in
roadside and ornamental planting.
The alternate-leaved dogwood, _Cornus alternifolia_ L., occasionally
reaches tree size with long slender branches arranged in irregular
whorls giving the tree a storied effect. The flowers are small,
followed by blue-black fruit borne in loose red-stemmed clusters.
+SOUR GUM+ _Nyssa sylvatica_ Marsh.
THE sour gum, often called black gum, is found in many types of soil and
in most conditions of soil moisture in southern Illinois, but it becomes
rare in the northern half of the State. In lowlands, it is occasionally
found in year-round swamps with cypress, and in the hills on dry slopes
with oaks and hickories.
[Illustration: SOUR GUM