[Sca-cooks] RE: Dogwood trees

[Diamond Randall]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

The species of dogwood you are looking for is not

"Korean", but CORNELIAN!  It is a small tree that

is often used in landscaping around the world.  The

species name is Cornus mas.   While the tree is

botanically classified as a dogwood, it lacks the white

petals so characteristic of what we envision as "true"

dogwoods.  However, its blooming state is not unworthy

of admiration.  The yellow centers of dogwood blossoms

are the actual flowers of regular dogwoods; the white petals

are large sepals.   On the Cornelian dogwood, there are

THOUSANDS of these bright yellow flowerets making it

look somewhat like a tall forsythia.  It also blooms very

early and before it puts out any leaves, so it is very

attractive.  Unfortunately, the plants only bloom and

produce fruit after they are at least 10 years old, so if

you want one, get a large ball and burlap or container

grown one.  I will be planting several hundred of them

(unfortunately small sizes) in the next two years at

Glaedenfeld Centre.  Why?



Well, the other names for the fruit are "Cornel-berries" or

more commonly - Cornelian cherries.  Early fruits at first

coloring are said to taste like a tart cherry but "somewhat

more austere" but as they deepen redder in the long ripening

season, the fruit improves in sweetness and aroma and become

very cherry indeed.  The ripe fruit is oval, fire-engine red and

has a single oval pit.  There should be a good number of ripe

fruit still in Central Park where there are a number of mature

trees.  These trees live and produce for 100-200 years
incidentally.

A single tree produces 30 to 100 pounds of fruit, though some

cultivars have produced 200+ pounds per tree.

One of the little known but important to know is that the Greeks

will pick green fruits and boil them in vinegar to make them

very similar to olives.  Best of all, using both the ripe and the
green

fruits is ENTIRELY PERIOD with extensive Greek, Roman and

medieval references (cited in Ovid, Plutarch, Columella,Gerard,

Parkinson, etc.)



I hope this information is helpful.  I have not seen as many
topics

of late that I feel I can make a real contribution to the List so

I have been rather quiet of late.



Akim Yaroslavich

"No glory comes without pain"


----- Original Message -----


I suspect that what you have is the common dogwood found all over in
the

wild.  We have lots of it growing wild in the
woods.  It has a

heart-shaped leaf, a four-petaled white bloom in the spring and
lovely

red berries in the fall.  I have never heard of them being
edible, but

then there's a lot that I've never heard of.  There is a "kosa"
dogwood

that has sort of almond shaped leaves, and the blossoms have

almond-shaped petals as well (the others are more heart-shaped) and

blooms during the summer.  I have no idea about these
either.



Kiri



Tara Sersen wrote:



  Here's a wierd question.  I've read that a korean variety
of

  dogwood tree produces a small fruit that is supposed to be

  quite yummy.  Our new house has three dogwood trees, I
do

  not know the exact variety.  Right now, they all have
the

  loveliest red berry type fruits on them.  Is this the
korean

  dogwood fruit of lore?  I had a dogwood tree at my
last

  house, and do not remember it producing any similar berry in

  the autumn.  Nor do I remember ever noticing them on
any

  other dogwood.



  If they are the edible type, does anybody know what I should

  do with them?  Eat them raw?  Make jelly from
them?  Use

  them in cooking?



  Thank you!

  -Magdalena



--- Diamond Randall


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