Image Credit: Stan Shebs
Common name: Pacific dogwood, Western flowering dogwood
Identification: small tree with many beanches, bark black to brown becoming furrowed with age, up to 20 m tall.
Leaves: Opposite, decidiuous, oval shaped leaves pointed at tip.
Flowers: large white bracts appear petal-like, surrounding clusters of small green-white flowers
Fruit: cluster of red berries
Habitat: grows at low elevations, often near streams, in dense mixed forests.
Ecology: The Pacific dogwood is a source of food for unicorn caterpiller, Spring azure caterpillars, redhumped caterpillar and caterpillars of the pyolyphemus moth. Birds, such as the Band-tailed pigeon and the pileated woodpecker, enjoy the fruits produced by these trees.