Bloodtwig Dogwood                KOR-nus san-gwin-EE-a

• Deciduous shrub, 10-13 ft (3-4 m) tall, mulitstemmed, spreading, purple to dark red stems, sometimes greenish on the underside.  Leaves opposite, simple, broad-elliptic to ovate, 4-8 cm long, gradually tapering to a point (acuminate), rounded or broad wedge-shaped base, 3-5 pairs of veins, pubescent surfaces, especially below; fall color apparently ranges from dark red to greenish purple.  Flowers dull white, in dense flat-topped clusters (cymes) 4-5 cm across; blooms in May-June.  Fruit purple-black, 6 mm wide.
• Sun to partial shade; best in well-drained soil, but adaptable; suckers freely.  Not considered a specimen plant, possibly for screening and massing.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4    Native to Europe and western Asia.
• sanguinea: blood-red.