Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Cornus sessilis is a species of dogwood known by the common names blackfruit cornel or blackfruit dogwood and miner's dogwood. This is a shrub or small tree which is endemic to northern California, where it grows along streambanks in the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and the coastal mountain ranges. It is a tree of the understory in its native range. This dogwood may approach five meters in height at maximum. It is deciduous, bearing deeply-veined oval green leaves in season which turn red before falling. Its flower cluster is a cluster of tiny greenish-yellow flowers surrounded by thick, pointed leafs. The fruit is a round drupe about a centimeter wide which is white when new and gradually turns shiny black. The fruit attracts many birds.

Plant type

Tree

Size

8 - 16 ft Tall
3 - 9 ft Wide

Form

Spreading

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow, Red

Flowering season

Spring

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Partial Shade

Water

Moderate, High

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Ease of care

Easy

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil drainage

Medium, Slow

Soil description

Moist to wet. Tolerates heavy clay soils. Tolerates saline soil..

Sunset Zones

4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Streambanks

Plant communities

Douglas-Fir Forest, Forest, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian

Redwoods (Sequoia sepervirens), ferns (Athyrium filix-femina, Polystichum munitum)

Bats
Birds
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 31 likely

Confirmed Likely

Fingered Dagger Moth

Acronicta dactylina

Funerary Dagger Moth

Acronicta funeralis

Triton Dagger Moth

Acronicta grisea