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New Jersey Symbols, Memorial Tree: Dogwood
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Flowering Dogwood
(Cornus florida)
Adopted on January 15, 1951.
The official state tree is the red oak, Quercus borealis maxima. The red oak was authorized by a Joint Resolution signed by Governor Alfred E. Driscoll June 13, 1950. The state memorial tree is the dogwood, authorized by Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 2 of 1951.
White flowers bloom in spring. Dark green foliage changes to red in fall. Red berries remain on tree late in fall.
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is one of America's most popular ornamental trees. Known to most people simply as dogwood, it has other common names, including boxwood and cornel. The species name florida is Latin for flowering, but the showy petal-like bracts are not in fact flowers. The bright red fruit of this fast-growing short-lived tree are poisonous to humans but provide a great variety of wildlife with food. The wood is smooth, hard and close-textured and now used for specialty products.
Leaf: Opposite, simple, arcuately veined, 3 to 6 inches long, oval in shape with an entire margin.
Flower: Very small, but surrounded by 4 large white (occasionally pink) bracts, 2 inches in diameter. Appearing March to April in the south, June in the north.
Fruit: A shiny, oval red drupe, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, in clusters of 3 to 4. Maturing in September to October.
Twig: Slender, green or purple, later turning gray, often with a glaucous bloom. The terminal flower buds are clove-shaped, vegetative buds resemble a cat claw.
Bark: Gray when young, turning very scaly to blocky.
Form: A small tree with a short trunk that branches low, producing a flat-topped crown. Branches are opposite, and assume a "candelabra" appearance.
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 2 of 1951.
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced January 15, 1951
By Mrs. DWYER
Referred to Committee on Ways and Means
A Concurrent Resolution providing for the adoption of the
dogwood tree (Cornus Florida) as the New Jersey State
Memorial Tree.
WHEREAS, It is the practice of many patriotic and public-
spirited organizations and the State of New Jersey, and the State
Highway Department , to plant dogwood trees along the border of New
Jersey's Memorial Highway known as the "Blue Star Drive" in honor of
the men and women in our Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, It is in the public interested and welfare to foster
the widespread use of the dogwood as a memorial tree in our parks,
parkways, monuments, and building sites; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Assembly of the State of New
Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. That the dogwood tree (Cornus Florida) be and it is hereby
adopted and designated as the New Jersey State Memorial Tree.
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| Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
| Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants |
| Superdivision |
Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
| Division |
Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants |
| Class |
Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons |
| Subclass |
Rosidae – |
| Order |
Cornales – |
| Family |
Cornaceae – Dogwood family |
| Genus |
Cornus L. – dogwood |
| Species |
Cornus florida L. – flowering dogwood |
Source: Dendrology at Virginia Tech
Dendrology at Virginia Tech
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
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