Random Stuff from Wikipeda about
Dogwood
Dogwood
Plant
The Dogwoods comprise a
group of 30-50 species of mostly deciduous
woody
plants growing as shrubs
and trees;
some species are herbaceous perennial plants and a few of the woody
species are evergreen. They are in the family Cornaceae,
divided into one to nine genera or subgenera (depending on
botanical interpretation). Flower clusters semi-showy, usually
white or yellow, in cymes with large showy bracts, fruit red, blue
or white:
Dogwood
in government insignia
Numerous varieties of Dogwood are
represented in the insignia of U.S. states and Canadian
provinces.
The inflorescence
of Pacific Dogwood is the official flower of the province of
British
Columbia.
The Dogwood (Cornus
florida) and its inflorescence are the state tree and the state
flower respectively for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia.
It is also the state tree of Missouri
and the state flower of North
Carolina.
Etymology and other meanings
The word dogwood comes from
dagwood, from the use of the slender stems of very hard
wood
for making 'dags' (daggers, skewers).[2]
The wood was also highly prized for making loom shuttles, arrows,
tool handles, and other small items that required a very hard and
strong wood.
The
legend of the dogwood
There is a Christian
legend
of unknown origin that proclaims that the cross
used to crucify
Jesus was constructed of dogwood.[3]
As the story goes, during the time of Jesus,
the dogwood was larger and stronger than it is today and was the
largest tree in the area of Jerusalem.
After his crucifixion,
Jesus changed the plant to its current form: he shortened it and
twisted its branches to assure an end to its use for the
construction of crosses. He also transformed its inflorescence
into a representation of the crucifixion itself, with the four
white bracts
cross-shaped, which represent the four corners of the cross, each
bearing a rusty indentation as of a nail and the red stamens
of the flower, represents Jesus' crown
of thorns, and the clustered red fruit represent his
blood.[4]
Other
Uses