Montane, subalpine. Streamsides. Spring.
Near Yellow Jacket Canyon, June 8, 2004.

Red-Osier Dogwood is a distinctive bush year-round: Its maroon stems stand out in winter snows; its clusters of numerous, tiny white flowers are showy in the spring; its white fruits are handsome; and its leaves are an attractive maroon in the fall.  Before its leaves are on, Red-Osier is sometimes mistaken for a willow.  It grows to about eight feet tall and spreads into a thicket by sending out root shoots.

Linnaeus named both the genus and the species in 1771.

"Swida" is the common Czech name for the plant and "sericea" is Greek for "silken".

Montane, subalpine. Streamsides. Spring.
West Mancos Trail, June 1, 2004.

Montane, subalpine. Streamsides. Spring.
Near Yellowjacket Canyon, May 10, 2004.

Montane, subalpine. Streamsides. Spring.
Near Yellowjacket Canyon, July 15, 2004.

Montane, subalpine. Streamsides. Spring.
Highway 145 North of Dolores, August 29, 2000.