Mineral Wildflower Festival

Technical Name

• Cornus nuttallii

Informal Names

• Pacific dogwood

• Mountain dogwood

• Western flowering dogwood

Key Characteristics

• The "Flowers": What appear to be large, white petals are actually bracts (modified leaves). They frame a tight, central, button-like cluster of dozens of tiny, true greenish-white or purple-tinged flowers.

• Bract Count: Unlike the Eastern flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), which almost always has 4 bracts, the Pacific dogwood typically features 4 to 8 bracts (most commonly 6, as clearly seen in your photo's central bloom).

• Foliage: Opposite, dark-green, oval leaves with distinct, curved parallel veins that turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red in autumn.

• Fruit: In late summer and autumn, the flowers give way to dense, vibrant clusters of bright red or pinkish-red compound berries.

Notable Significance

• Wildlife Value: The high-calcium red berries are an incredibly important food source for local wildlife, eagerly eaten by band-tailed pigeons, pileated woodpeckers, deer mice, and even black bears.

• Indigenous Uses: Native tribes historically used the strong, heavy wood to craft bows, arrows, and baskets, and utilized the bark for traditional medicinal decoctions and dyes.

• Ecological Status: It is highly susceptible to dogwood anthracnose (a non-native fungal disease), making healthy wild populations a vital component of the local forest ecology.

Locations Found

• Habitat: It thrives in cool, moist, partially shaded environments with rich, well-draining soil. You will typically spot it growing under the canopy or along the edges of mixed conifer and hardwood forests, frequently near mountain streams.

• Elevation Range: Commonly found at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges of California.