Cornus.

Major entry:

Cornus mas Linn. Cornelian Cherry. Cornus. Sorbet.

Cornus amomum Mill. Cornaceae. Kinnikinnik.

North America. In Louisiana, this plant is said by Rafinesque to have black fruit very good to eat.

Cornus canadensis Linn. Bunchberry. Dwarf Cornel.

North America. This species occurs from Pennsylvania to Labrador on the east and to Sitka on the northwest. The scarlet berries are well known to children, being pleasant but without much taste. They are sometimes made into puddings.

Cornus capitata Wall.

Himalayan region. This plant was introduced into English gardens about 1833 as an ornamental. The fruit is sweetish, mingled with a little bitter taste, and is eaten and made into preserves in India.

Cornus macrophylla Wall. Large-Leaved Dogwood.

Himalayan region, China and Japan. The round, smooth, small berries are eaten in India.

Cornus mas Linn. Cornelian Cherry. Cornus. Sorbet.

Europe and Asia Minor. The cornelian cherry was formerly cultivated for its fruits which were used in tarts. There are a number of varieties. De Candolle mentions one with a yellow fruit. Duhamel says there are three varieties in France and Germany; one with wax-colored fruit, another with white fruit and a third with fleshy, round fruit. Don says the fruit is gratefully acid and is called sorbet by the Turks. A. Smith says the harsh, acid fruits are scarcely eatable but are sold in the markets in some parts of Germany to be eaten by children or made into sweetmeats and tarts. J. Smith says the fruit is of a cornelian color, of the size of a small plum, not very palatable, but is eaten in some parts as a substitute for olives; it is also preserved, is used in confectionery and, in Turkey, serves as a flavoring for sherbets. In Norway, the flowers are used for flavoring distilled spirits.

Cornus sanguinea Linn. Cornel Dogwood. Dogberry. Dogwood. Pegwood.

Europe and northern Asia. The fruit is said to contain a large quantity of oil used for the table and in brewing.

Cornus stolonifera Michx. Red-Osier.

North America. Thoreau found the bark in use by the Indians of Maine for smoking, under the name magnoxigill, Indian tobacco. Nuttall says the fruit, though bitter and unpalatable, is eaten by the Indians of the Missouri River.

Cornus suecica Linn. Kinnikinnik.

North America. The berries are gathered in the autumn by the western Eskimo and preserved by being frozen in wooden boxes out of which they are cut with an axe. In central New York, this plant is called kinnikinnik by the Indians.

Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.