Gray Dogwood (Stiff Dogwood)

A shrub with stiff, upright, irregular branches, often thicket-forming; sometimes a small tree.

Leaves opposite, simple, lacking teeth or lobes, lance-shaped or broadest at the middle, 2–4 inches long, tapering to a broadly pointed tip. The lower leaf surface is paler than the top.

Bark gray, smooth when young, developing shallow grooves with age.

Twigs reddish or greenish when young, becoming gray or gray-brown with age.

Flowers May–July, small, creamy-white flowers in round-topped, open, branching clusters 1¼–2½ inches broad.

Fruits July–October, white or pale blue, round, fleshy, ¼ inch in diameter; one-seeded. Fruits borne on red stalks.