Cornaceae
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Cornaceae
[kȯr′nās·ē‚ē]cornelian cherry
Cornaceae
(dogwood), a family of dicotyledonous plants. They are evergreen or deciduous trees and shrubs; they are rarely rhizomatous subshrubs. The leaves are simple, opposite or alternate, and usually exstipulate. The small regular flowers, which are generally tetramerous and bisexual, are gathered in clusters. The fruits are drupes or baccate. There are approximately 15 genera, with 110 species, distributed primarily in the temperate and subtropical regions of the northern hemisphere; they are also found in the arctic, southern Africa, Madagascar, New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, Brazil, and Chile. In the USSR there are three or four genera (13 species), including species of Aucuba and Cornus (such as bloodtwig dogwood). Several species of the family Cornaceae have valuable wood, which is used in the manufacture of small articles.