The common name for cornus is “dogwood”. The strong, straight stems were once made to use “dags” (as in daggers, arrows or skewers), so it was known as “dagwood”. By the early 1600s the name had morphed into “Dogwood” and later “Hounds Tree”, so the fruit became known as “houndberries” or “dogberries”. It all sounds rather comical. I can’t help but visualise a Pythonesque scene, but I’ll spare you for now.
The cornus referred to back then was Cornus sanguinea, native across much of Eurasia and with distinctive bright crimson-red winter stems and blue-black berries. It grows happily along woodland edges and hedgerows and suckers enthusiastically where there’s a little moisture in the ground. There are many fine cornus grown for their colourful stems
