Small tree .  Leaves oval, pointed, with veins that parallel the sides of the leaf.   Like the majority of dogwoods, it has opposite leaves, that is they grow in pairs opposite each other on the twigs.   Flowers in early summer.  Flowers are very small, greenish, in a cluster surrounded by four very large white pointed bracts.  The flower cluster resembles a single large flower with 4 white petals.  Fruits from each flower in the cluster fuse together to make a single fleshy, strawberry-like fruit.. 

Native of Asia, but often planted in yards, parks, and on the RU campus. In Wildwood, has been planted near the outdoor classroom and along the Riverway near the North Meadow.

The native flowering dogwood (C. florida) has similar large white bracts resembling a large flower, but they are indented instead of pointed. It blooms earlier and the fruits do not fuse, but form a clump of separate red berries.