Rough-leaved Dogwood Traditional Cache

This Rough-leaved Dogwood is on Dodge road. Another "Dog" cache for Tundra Wolf. Beware of possible poison ivy in the mowed vegetation of the verge. This is a P&G.

Rough-leaved Dogwood

Cornus drummondii, commonly known as the roughleaf dogwood, is a small deciduous tree that is native primarily to the Great Plains and Midwestern regions of the United States. It is also found around the Mississippi River. It is uncommon in the wild, and is mostly found around forest borders. The roughleaf dogwood is used as a buffer strip around parking lots, in the median of highways and near the decks and patios of homes. It can grow to a height of 15 to 25 feet (4.6 - 7.6 m) with a spread of 10 to 15 feet (3.1 - 4.6 m).

The roughleaf dogwood flowers during the summer months. It produces off-white four-petaled open flowers that are followed by small white fruits that ripen from August to October.

These dogwoods can form a dense thicket that is used as a hedge, border or cover for wildlife. At least forty species of birds are known to feed on the fruits of the roughleaf dogwood.

Because of their high caloric content, the drupes of Dogwoods are very attractive to the Wood Duck, upland gamebirds, and many songbirds; these birds can distribute the seeds across considerable distances. Some mammals also eat the drupes, including the Black Bear, Fox Squirrel, Gray Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk, and White-Footed Mouse. Finally, White-Tailed Deer and Elk browse on the foliage and twigs of Dogwoods.

Other Cornus spp. (Dogwoods) can be distinguished from Rough-Leaved Dogwood by the shape of their leaves (more broad or more narrow), number of paired veins on each leaf, and/or color of their drupes (sometimes blue or red). Their leaves and young branchlets are usually less pubescent than those of Rough-Leaved Dogwood.

The cache is a tied in, camoed, "small" pill bottle, the push hard to open and close kind. It holds a plastic bag with a rolled log and 2 rubber bands. One for the rolled log, before it goes in the bag, the other around the neck of the bag, to make it easy to pull it out of the bottle. Please BYOP, no tweezers and keep track of everything so you can put it back the way you found it.