Star Flowers in the tree
Tree
Our Cornus Starlight dogwood trees are bloomingly beautifully healthy…
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deer
…and, aside from the places where deer have snacked…
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Flowers
…leaves and flowers are covering the tree!!
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White bracts
The flower clusters would be hard to spot if they weren’t surrounded by these pretty white bracts (which are modified leaves)…
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Yellow flowers
…there are 30 – 40 true flowers in each cluster, and the petals are minuscule – only 2 mm or 0.8 inches. No wonder they need the white bracts to tell the pollinators where to find them.
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tiny
The flowers and bracts in Floradora’s hair are even smaller!
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Joy
What a joy to sit in a dogwood tree!
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Quimper Hittys 
Questo giardino magico è un amore!! I fiori hanno mille risorse, tante quanti sono i modi per propagarsi e per farsi notare dagli insetti. La Natura non delude mai. 🙂
You are right – Nature has made thousands of ways for flowers to be noticed by insects, and never disappoints! Molte grazie per il tuo commento!
I’ve never seen a dogwood in Australia (although it doesn’t mean they were never imported), so I didn’t know the petals were actually bracts, like poinsettias (which do grow wild here, though not native).
I hadn’t thought of the comparison with Poinsettia but you are Absolutely spot on! The Dogwood trees are lovely, especially at this season…we are so happy to have two in our little patch of ground, we have never particularly noticed them before but now we will!
What a clear botanical lesson you’ve given us, dear QH mom. Thank you Floradora also for leading us to a distant relative and letting us enjoy their acquaintance.
Floradora is in her element! Her very own relatives to chat with in our very own front garden! The Quimper Hittys do enjoy visiting a tree through the seasons, and detecting the changes and the different beautiful moments…and we love to share our observations with a friendly audience!
ahhh dogwood trees, they are so lovely. The state tree of Missouri…they grow wild in our woods…always a magical sight in early spring when nothing else is blooming or even leafed out. Foradora is as pretty as that lovely tree!
We are sure they are magical trees too – they gave life and spirit to Floradora, so she must be magical too!