It is a small
deciduous shrub or tree growing to (rarely ) tall and to wide, with a trunk up to in diameter. The branches manifest in horizontal layers separated by gaps, with a flat-topped crown, said to resemble a pagoda. The alternate-leaf dogwood is a shrub or small tree that has horizontal branches that form tiers. The branches are parallel to the ground creating a layered tiered look with upturned branches like a pagoda. This plant may grow from 15 to 25 feet tall and 20 to 32 feet wide. Its
leaves are elliptic to ovate and grow to long and broad, arranged alternately on the stems, not in opposite pairs typical of the majority of
Cornus species. The leaves are most often arranged in crowded clusters around the ends of the twigs and appear almost whorled. The upper sides of the leaves are smooth and green, while the undersides are hairy and a bluish color. The
bark is colored gray to brown, becoming ridged as it ages. Small cream colored
flowers are produced, with four small petals. The flowers are grouped into cymes, with the
inflorescences across. It bears
berries with a blackish blue color. • Bark: Dark reddish brown, with shallow ridges. Branchlets at first pale reddish green, later dark green. • Wood: Reddish brown, sapwood pale; heavy, hard, close-grained. Sp. gr., 0.6696; weight . • Winter buds: Light chestnut brown, acute. Inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot and become half an inch long before they fall. • Leaves: Alternate, rarely opposite, often clustered at the ends of the branch, simple, three to five inches long, two to three wide, oval or ovate, wedge-shaped or rounded at base; margin is wavy toothed, slightly reflexed, apex acuminate. They come out of the bud involute, reddish green above, coated with silvery white tomentum beneath, when full grown are bright green above, pale, downy, almost white beneath. Feather-veined, midrib broad, yellowish, prominent beneath, with about six pairs of primary veins. In autumn they turn yellow, or yellow and scarlet. Petioles slender, grooved, hairy, with clasping bases. • Flowers: April, May. Perfect, cream color, borne in many-flowered, broad, open cymes, at the end of short lateral branches. • Calyx: The cup-shaped flowers have four petals that are valvate in bud, unwrapping when in bloom with cream colored, oblong shaped petals with rounded ends. The petals are inserted on disk and the stamens are inserted too and arranged alternately to the petals, being four in number also. The stamens are exserted with filaments long and slender. Anthers oblong, introrse, versatile, two-celled; cells opening longitudinally. • Pistil: Ovary inferior, two-celled; style columnar; stigma capitate. • Fruit: Drupe, globular, blue-black, across, tipped with remnant of style which rises from a slight depression; nut obovoid, many-grooved. October. ==Habitat==