looduskalender.ee

 

Starling on dogwood

 

 

A pretty shrub, elevated to tree by its Estonian name, kontpuu, bone tree. An old shrub can grow up to five metres high, and become well branched and as wide in an open habitat. It has a westerly range in Estonia, preferring calcareous soil and light-rich  wooded meadows, the understorey of broadleaf forests, roadsides or cultivated fields.  

 

As autumn advances the dogwood turns handsome, its canes are already reddish brown and glossy, leaves turn red by and by. The bluish black stone fruits (drupes) with white spots stay below a centimetre in size and contain one large seed. Birds eat the oily fruits happily. They are not directly toxic to humans  but the taste is disgusting – thus inedible.

 

White dogwood (Cornus alba) with white fruits is grown as an ornamental shrub  in parks and gardens.