flowering dogwood

noun

: a common spring-flowering usually white-bracted dogwood (Cornus florida)

Examples of flowering dogwood in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The flowering dogwood The flowering dogwood (Corhus florida) is another great choice for the landscape as an alternative to the dreadful Bradford pear. —Campbell Vaughn, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026

The common red twig dogwood (Cornus sericea) is tolerant of wet conditions and easy to grow, while the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is very difficult to grow in Chicago. —Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 2026

This lovely native tree, offering fleecy, white flowers in spring and bright yellow fall foliage, makes a good substitute for a flowering dogwood if your yard doesn't support those trees. —Steve Bender, Southern Living, 8 Mar. 2026

Wait to prune early flowering trees, including flowering dogwood, azalea, redbud, and lilac. —Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 25 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for flowering dogwood

• adulthood
• babyhood
• brotherhood
• cottonwood
• fatherhood
• firewood
• fuelwood
• hardihood
• ironwood
• leatherwood
• likelihood
• livelihood

Medical Definition

flowering dogwood

noun

flow·​er·​ing dogwood ˈflau̇(-ə)r-iŋ- 

: a common spring-flowering white-bracted dogwood of the genus Cornus (C. florida) the dried bark of whose root has been used as a mild astringent and stomachic