• Flowering dogwood is just one of several common dogwood types.Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Dogwood is the common name given to a number of species of woody shrubs or small trees in the genus Cornus. Many of these species are valued as ornamental trees in landscapes and gardens, particularly for their attractive spring blossoms consisting of petal-like leaves called bracts, usually four to a blossom. While numerous varieties of dogwood exist, some are more frequently used than others in landscaping.
  
  

Flowering Dogwood

• By far the most widely known dogwood variety in North America, the flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, forms a full, rounded crown, often with multiple trunks from the same root. It occurs either as a large shrub or a small tree, usually between 15 and 35 feet in height, and typically growing larger in the south than in the north. This species is best known for its dramatic early springtime blossoms; the flowers are usually white or pink, although additional cultivars have been developed to produce blossoms of red or even purple. Flowering dogwood does well in partial shade, making it a good understory tree in the shade of larger trees.
  
  

Bloodtwig Dogwood

• Also referred to as Common Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea is native to Europe and typically grows to about 15 feet tall and wide. Unlike its relative the flowering dogwood, this tree's greatest landscape appeal is its fall and winter colors; its leaves turn dark red or purple in the fall, and its bare branches maintain a reddish color in winter, hence the name "bloodtwig". One popular cultivar of bloodtwig dogwood is Midwinter fire, a variety that displays orange-yellow branches in winter, as well as orange fall foliage. Like other dogwoods, it does yield white blossoms in spring, but they are less dramatic and produce an aroma that some find unpleasant.
  
  

Pacific Dogwood

• Common to the West Coast states, Cornus nuttallii is quite similar to the flowering dogwood in appearance and attractiveness, the main exception being that its white blossoms are larger than the flowering dogwood, and usually have six bracts instead of the usual four. Pacific dogwood trees can grow anywhere between 15 and 40 feet tall, with crowns that can be rounded or cone-shaped, and can form multiple trunks from a single root structure. This tree yields an orange-red berry fruit, and its leaves turn orange-yellow in fall.
  
  

Alternate-leaf Dogwood

• Often called Pagoda Dogwood because of the shape of its flat-topped crown and horizontal branches that turn upward at the ends, Cornus alternifolia is distinguishable among other types of dogwood mainly by its leaf structure. While other dogwoods have opposite leaves, with two or more leaves from the same node, this dogwood variety has alternate leaves, which occur singly at different points along each stem. Alternate-leaf dogwood can grow to heights of over 30 feet, yielding creamy white blossoms in late spring, followed by dark red or purple berries and a dull red fall leaf color. This species is particularly tolerant of shade, and does best in moist soils and along river banks.