In the spring and early summer, the Pacific Dogwood puts on a lovely display of colourful "flowers." It is the provincial flower of British Columbia.

The flowers are actually tiny, yellowish green and row in a tight, small cluster. They are surrounded by 4-7 petal-like white or pinkish bracts. The resulting structure resembles a showy flower 4-6 in/10-15 cm wide.

The leaves are simple and oval shaped, growing 3-6 in/7.5-15 cm long with 5 or 6 parallel veins on each side and a sharp point at the tip. The bark tends to be blotchy and grayish in colour. The tree grows up to 50 ft/15 m tall.

The fruit, shown here as immature, grows in dense clusters at the end of a stalk.
The fruit will gradually ripen, turning red or orange.

Walking in the Wild

The Arbutus »