Kousa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kousa |
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Cornus
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kousa
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The Cornus kousa is a beautiful small tree. It loses its leaves in autumn, so it's called a deciduous tree. This tree usually grows about 8 to 12 meters (26 to 39 feet) tall. It belongs to the flowering plant family called Cornaceae.
People call this tree by many names, like kousa, kousa dogwood, Chinese dogwood, Korean dogwood, or Japanese dogwood. It originally comes from East Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan. Many people grow it in their gardens because it's so pretty. You can even find it growing wild in New York State now.
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What the Kousa Dogwood Looks Like
Like other trees in the Cornus family, the kousa dogwood has simple leaves that grow opposite each other on the branch. These leaves are usually 4 to 10 centimeters (1.5 to 4 inches) long.
This tree looks amazing when it blooms! What might seem like four white petals are actually special leaves called bracts. These bracts grow below the real flowers, which are small and yellow-green. The blooms appear in late spring, a few weeks after the tree's leaves have opened.
You can tell the kousa dogwood apart from the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) found in eastern North America. The kousa dogwood grows straighter and blooms about a month later. Also, its flower bracts are pointed, not rounded.
Fruit of the Kousa Dogwood
The fruit of the kousa dogwood is a round, pink to red berry. It's about 2 to 3 centimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) wide. Sometimes, towards the end of the season, these berries can grow even larger, over 4 centimeters (1.6 inches).
These berries are actually edible! They taste sweet and creamy. This makes them a tasty bonus to the tree's beauty. Sometimes, people even use the fruit to make wine.
Disease Resistance
The kousa dogwood is strong against a disease called dogwood anthracnose. This disease is caused by a fungus and can kill other dogwood trees, like C. florida. Because of its resistance, the kousa dogwood is often planted in gardens where this disease is a problem.
In autumn, the leaves of the kousa dogwood turn a bright, showy red color.
Different Types of Kousa Dogwood
There are two main types, or subspecies, of Cornus kousa:
- Cornus kousa subsp. kousa: This is the Japanese dogwood, found in Japan and Korea.
- Cornus kousa subsp. chinensis: This is the Chinese dogwood, found in China. Some people say this type has more flowers and bigger flower bracts. Its leaves might also be larger.
Hybrids and Cultivars
Scientists have created new types of kousa dogwood by crossing it with C. florida. These are called hybrids. For example, Cornus × rutgersensis and Cornus × elwinortonii were made at Rutgers University. These new types are often chosen because they resist diseases and have beautiful flowers.
There are also many different cultivars of kousa dogwood. A cultivar is a plant type that people have grown for specific traits, like flower color or shape. Here are a few examples:
- Beni Fuji: This type has the deepest red-pink flower bracts.
- Elizabeth Lustgarten and Lustgarten Weeping: These are known for their branches that arch downwards, giving the tree a weeping look.
- Gold Star: This one has a wide gold band in the center of each leaf. The contrast between its red fruit and gold leaves is very striking.
- Milky Way: This cultivar produces many pure white flowers, so many that they can hide the leaves! It also grows lots of fruit.
- Satomi (or Miss Satomi): This popular type has deep pink flower bracts and its leaves turn purple and deep red in autumn.
- Wolf Eyes: This cultivar has leaves with a white edge and often wavy margins. In fall, the leaves turn attractive pink to red colors. It grows slowly and stays shrubby.
Award-Winning Cultivars
Some kousa dogwood cultivars have won special awards, like the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. This award means they are excellent plants for gardens. As of 2017, these include:
- 'John Slocock'
- 'Miss Satomi'
- 'Summer Fun'
- 'Teutonia'
- 'Wolf Eyes'
- var. chinensis 'China Girl'
- var. chinensis 'Wisley Queen'
Eating Kousa Dogwood Berries
The berries of the C. kousa tree are edible! The soft inside of the fruit is sweet, tasting a bit like a ripe persimmon. However, it has hard seeds that are stuck to the pulp, which can make it a bit tricky to eat directly. Most people throw away the berry's skin because it can taste bitter, even though it's safe to eat. The seeds are usually not eaten, but they could be ground up for jams or sauces. Besides the berries, young leaves of the kousa dogwood can also be eaten, though they are less popular.
Gallery
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C. kousa flowers
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Foliage and fruit
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Fruits in late summer
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Fruit cut in half
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C. kousa in June at the UBC Botanical Garden
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C. kousa 'Samaratin' in an arboretum in Vossem, Belgium
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Cornus kousa 'Satomi' in the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia
See also
In Spanish: Cornus kousa para niños
