North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Benthamidia florida

L.

flowering dogwood

Cultivar(s): Cherokee Brave, Cherokee Chief

Image ID: 8912
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: BEFL
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Benthamidia florida
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-11-30
SELECTED SYNONYM: Cornus florida

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1767	Cherokee Brave	View
1733	Cherokee Chief	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: BENTH
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Benthamidia
GENUS AUTHORITY: Spach
GENUS COMMON: Big-bracted Dogwood
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 7 species, trees, of Asia, e. North America, w. North America, and montane Mexico. See Cornaceae for discussion of generic treatment. We here circumscribe Benthamidia broadly to include the syncarpous, big-bracted dogwoods of e. Asia, sometimes separated as genus Dendrobenthamia Hutchinson.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES:

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: CORNAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Cornaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: (Berchtold & J. Presl) Dumortier 1829
FAMILY COMMON: Dogwood Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 2 genera and about 85 species, trees, shrubs, lianas, and subshrubs, semicosmopolitan (mainly northern hemisphere). The Cornaceae is best circumscribed to exclude Nyssa (Xiang et al. 2002).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Xiang et al. (2002); Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS: Pith continuous. Young twigs (1-year-old or less) green or purple or red, glabrous or pubescent, puberulent. Leaf scars crescent-shaped or V-shaped, bundle scars 3 per leaf scar, stipule scars absent. Bark of mature trunks checkered or furrowed. Buds axillary or terminal, gray or green or tan, conic or globose, blunt or sharp, glabrous or pubescent, bud scales imbricate or valvate or single scale.
LEAVES: Leaves deciduous, simple, petiolate, opposite, 6–10(–15) cm long, 3–7 cm wide, obovate or oval or ovate, leaf margins entire or crenulate or serrulate, leaf apices acuminate or acute, leaf bases cuneate or obtuse or rounded. Leaf upper surface green, glabrate or pubescent, puberulent or strigose. Leaf lower surface gray or green or white, pubescent, strigose. Leaf venation pinnate, secondary veins on either side of the midvein 5–6. Petioles 1.2–2 cm long. Stipules absent.
INFLORESCENCE: Inflorescences terminal, cymes or heads, flowers sessile.
FLOWERS: Flowers bisexual, epigynous. Perianth. Calyx radially symmetric, synsepalous. Sepals 4 per flower, ascending, green or yellow or yellow-green, pubescent, puberulent, persistent. Corolla radially symmetric, funnelform, sympetalous. Petals 4 per flower, reflexed or ascending, green or pink or red or white or yellow or yellow-green, lorate or ovate, petal apices acute or rounded, pubescent, caducous. Androecium. Stamens 4 per flower, alternating with petals, separate. Gynoecium. Ovaries inferior, pistils 1 per flower. Gynoecium syncarpous, 2 carpels per flower, styles 1 per pistil, placentation axile. Other floral features. Hypanthia present.
FRUITS: Fruits drupes, 0.8–1.8 cm long, red or scarlet or yellow, fruit maturation 1 years.
COMMENTS: Inflorescence subtended by 4 white (occasionally pink to red), showy, petal-like bracts; the actual petals are minute and typically greenish yellow; lateral leaf veins arch back toward the midvein as they approach the margin.
HEIGHT: 12-36 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: February or March or April or May or June.

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x		x			x

FRUITING PERIOD: Sep-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bottomlands, Dry forests, Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: eastern N. America & ne. Mexico

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
377	HORT		Liloia	View
1962	HORT	2018-10-10	Stern	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
373	2011-0246	2011-11-29	377	View
827	1985-0491			View
828	1985-0492			View
829	1985-0493			View
1276	1986-1048			View
2062	1986-1858			View
2269	1986-2095			View
3723	1991-0418			View
4560	1992-0716			View
4886	1995-0004			View
5095	1995-0214			View
5567	1995-0691			View
6040	1995-1171			View
7322	2000-0059	2000-03-07		View
7646	2000-0411	2007-07-20		View
8370	2005-0146	2005-04-12		View
8371	2005-0147	2005-04-12		View
8372	2005-0148	2005-04-12		View
8373	2005-0149	2005-04-12		View
8391	2005-0167	2005-05-31		View
8594	2006-0173	2006-08-11		View
8716	2006-0412	2006-11-13		View
8740	2006-0491	2006-11-30		View
8775	2007-0045	2007-03-14		View
8784	2007-0054	2007-03-14		View
8786	2007-0056	2007-03-14		View
8797	2007-0067	2007-03-13		View
9245	2019-0004	2019-02-06	1962	View
9470	2021-0126	2021-12-21	0	View
9650	2023-0102	2023-07-11		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
903	373	29	NCBG staff	2011-11-14	View
904	373	38	NCBG staff	2011-11-14	View
1567	827	177	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1568	827	153	NCBG staff	2002-12-15	View
1569	827	176	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1570	827	157	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1571	827	158	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1572	827	178	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1573	827	154	NCBG staff	1996-09-01	View
1574	828	198	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1575	829	159	NCBG staff	1981-03-26	View
2217	1276	81	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
2218	1276	94	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
3378	2062	1	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3379	2062	73	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3380	2062	77	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3381	2062	6	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3382	2062	72	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3383	2062	74	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3384	2062	75	Liloia	1986-12-31	View
3385	2062	78	Liloia	1986-12-31	View
3386	2062	189	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3387	2062	187	NCBG staff	2002-01-11	View
3388	2062	57	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
3389	2062	79	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
3938	2269	93	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3939	2269	94	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
6029	3723	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6889	4560	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7304	4886	202	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
7517	5095	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8081	5567	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8690	6040	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10291	7322	154	NCBG staff	2000-03-01	View
10820	7646	155	NCBG staff	2000-01-01	View
10821	7646	160	NCBG staff	2000-01-01	View
11644	8371	153	NCBG staff	2006-01-01	View
11645	8372	153	NCBG staff	2006-06-01	View
11646	8373	153	NCBG staff	1967-12-01	View
11650	8391	112	NCBG staff	2005-03-15	View
11784	8594	205	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
11943	8716	94	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
11978	8740	81	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12027	8775	69	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12036	8784	71	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12038	8786	60	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12049	8797	66	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12344	8391	100	Liloia	2011-03-29	View
12345	8391	103	Liloia	2011-03-29	View
12346	8391	105	Liloia	2011-03-29	View
12347	8370	112	Liloia	2011-03-29	View
12368	9245	112	Stern	2019-02-06	View
12758	0	23	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12954	9470	154	MacIntyre	0000-00-00	View
13066	0	25	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13243	0	105	Wait	0000-00-00	View
13406	0	205	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
13591	0	75	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13718	0	74	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13868	9650	77	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13909	9650	189	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: BEFL
USDA Common Name: Flowering Dogwood
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WV), CAN (ON)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME:
COMMON NAME:
SYNONYMY:
PHENOLOGY:
HABITAT:
COMMENTS:
RANGE MAP:

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Cornaceae (Berchtold & J. Presl) Dumortier 1829 (Dogwood Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 2 genera and about 85 species, trees, shrubs, lianas, and subshrubs, semicosmopolitan (mainly northern hemisphere). The Cornaceae is best circumscribed to exclude Nyssa (Xiang et al. 2002).
REFERENCE: Xiang et al. (2002); Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Benthamidia Spach (Big-bracted Dogwood)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 7 species, trees, of Asia, e. North America, w. North America, and montane Mexico. See Cornaceae for discussion of generic treatment. We here circumscribe Benthamidia broadly to include the syncarpous, big-bracted dogwoods of e. Asia, sometimes separated as genus Dendrobenthamia Hutchinson.
REFERENCE:

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Benthamidia florida in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Benthamidia florida in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Benthamidia florida in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Benthamidia florida in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Benthamidia florida in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Benthamidia florida

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 8912 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 8912 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7376 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 8912 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)