Eastern Flowering Dogwood

Highlights

Eastern flowering dogwoods are the stuff of springtime dreams: beloved, iconic, and unforgettable when you see them in full bloom. But these native beauties don’t stop there. In the fall, they dazzle with fiery foliage and offer high-nutrient berries to fuel migrating songbirds. Even their fallen leaves do their part, enriching the soil with calcium. Ready to fall in love with this stunning tree? Scroll on to learn more.

What are the benefits of planting an eastern flowering dogwood?

Eastern flowering dogwoods are one of the 12 native dogwood species found in North America—meet all of them in our guide to native dogwoods. Planting native dogwoods delivers a lot of benefits, including:

• Support Pollinators and Wildlife: Native dogwoods provide essential nectar for pollinators like bees and butterflies in the spring and berries that sustain birds and other wildlife in the fall.
• Year-Round Beauty: Spring flowers, bright red fall leaves and bright berries in the fall add interest to your yard all year.
• Low Maintenance: Once established, native dogwoods thrive with minimal care and require fewer resources than non-native alternatives.

And one more reason to plant an eastern flowering dogwood… 🦋

Eastern flowering dogwood throughout the seasons

These are cinematic trees, whose beauty changes with each passing season.

Spring

Eastern flowering dogwoods cover themselves with palm-sized flowers in the spring. It’s iconic when you see one.

Fall

Eastern flowering dogwoods turn fiery shades of red before dropping. They’re not just clutter; they’re natural fertilizer. As the leaves decompose, their high calcium content enriches the soil, boosting nutrients for nearby plants. So, embrace your inner lazy gardener and let nature take care of the fertilizing.

Winter

Enjoy the sculptural details of the bark and branches in the winter. Don’t forget to look closely to see the jigsaw-puzzle-pieced bark (this is another way to identify this native tree). And then it’s back to the iconic white flowers!

Pairs well with

Plant nerd fact

Eastern flowering dogwood white petals are actually leaves

If you’re into a tiny bit of botany to drop into conversation, here’s a good fact. Technically, the white petals on eastern dogwood flowers are not petals: they are bracts. A bract is a modified leaf that looks like a petal.

The pollen is contained within tiny flowers in the center:

Another plant you know already that has bract “flowers” is a poinsettia.

Where can I buy an eastern flowering dogwood to buy?

Thankfully, this native tree is so widespread that it’s easy to source once. Here are four foolproof ways to ensure you find a native gem for your yard:

FAQs

What about a dogwood with pink flowers?

That is probably a pink dogwood, a variety of the eastern flowering dogwood. You’ll know they are related by their Latin name: Cornus florida variety rubra. (Sometimes the term ‘variety’ is shortened to ‘var.’)

The term ‘variety’ describes plants curated by humans to look/behave in a certain way. To learn where varieties come from, read our quick overview on cultivars, which also explains varieties.

Where did the name dogwood come from?

The name ‘dogwood’ has a fun, culinary backstory. The name comes from its smooth, straight twigs that long-ago generations used as skewers for cooking meat.

These skewers were once called ‘dags’ or ‘dogs’, so essentially, dogwood means ‘skewer wood.’

Can I eat eastern flowering dogwood berries?

No. The USDA says it clearly:

WARNING: The fruit of flowering dogwood is poisonous to humans.

We can’t get any more clear than that.

However…

Dogwood berries are a favorite of migrating birds

Dogwood berries are a crucial food source for birds migrating south in the fall. Eastern flowering dogwoods, in particular, produce berries that are packed with fats and calcium, giving birds the energy and nutrients they need for their journey.

And that wraps up our love letter to eastern flowering dogwoods. These iconic trees are celebrated for their beautiful “flowers” (technically, bracts!), but now you know they provide four seasons of beauty and support to the world around them. The world is filled with dogwoods, so let’s plant the native species and ensure we contribute meaningfully to our communities and ecosystems. Visit our Guide to Native Dogwoods to learn about the other species. Or check out our Best Native Host Plants for Butterflies. Happy planting!

Similar plants

• Hackberry
• Fringe Tree
• Serviceberry
• Witch Hazels
• Crabapples
• Possumhaw
• Magnolias
• Redbud
• Carolina Silverbell

Written by

Emily Lessard

Founder & Editor, The Plant Native

Emily Lessard is the founder and editor of The Plant Native, the site that helps homeowners across North America get started with native plants. She holds a Sustainable Landscapes certificate through the Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association, is finishing a Native Perennial Garden Design Certificate at Temple University, and is the author of Plant Native: A Practical Guide to Over 100 Native Plants of North America (Quarto, March 2027). She gardens outside Philadelphia in the 8.3 Southeastern Plains ecoregion.

Meet Emily

Updated October 9, 2026Find more: White · Statement Tree · Spring · Full Sun · Part Sun · Moist · Host Plant

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