Dogwood

Dogwood, a name commonly applied to the cornel or skewer wood, Cornus sanguinea, a common British shrub with purplish-red branches, ovate leaves which turn red in autumn, and flat eymose clusters of white flowers which are succeeded by blackish-purple fruits. The name is also applied to the wood of the alder-buckthorn or berry-bearing alder, Rhamnus Frangula, which yields a very superior quality of charcoal for gunpowder.