Dogberries
Cornaceae, the dogwood family, includes several edible fruiting species.
Two of these, the European cornel and the kousa dogwood, are especially of note, and succeed well in Northwest Coast region.
Species
Cornelian dogberries
European cornel (Cornus mas)
Japanese cornel (Cornus officinalis)
Blackfruit cornel (Cornus sessilis)
Kousa dogberries
Kousa dogwood ()
Himalayan dogwood ()
Cornelian dogberries
Cornus mas, the European cornel, is a shrub or small tree native to western Europe, the Balkans, the Black Sea and Turkey. The fruit of the European cornel are commonly called “cornelian cherries”, a bit of a misnomer because dogwoods are only distantly related to cherries.
The name cornel comes from the German name for the tree, “cornel-baum”. Today, the term refers specifically to dogwoods in the subgenus Cornus.
Cornelian dogberries are available commercially in the species’ native range. They’re also popular in Iran and Russia. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the fruit is not grown commercially, but the trees are available through nurseries and often planted as an ornamental street tree for its early spring blooms. The trees are well adapted to our dry-summer climate and produce good crops with little supervision. Preserved cornelian dogberries can be found locally in Russian and Eastern European stores.
There are numerous varieties available that have been selected for superior fruit. Cultivated varieties of the fruit range in color. Most are red, they can also be yellow, pink, or black.
Tart in flavor, the fruit needs to be completely ripe and soft to be eaten out of hand. Otherwise, it is astringent and unpleasant. Personally, I’ve mostly eaten them as sweetened preserves, which make a great side for cheese and meats. I especially like them as an alternative to cranberry sauce, although they eat more similarly to olives since the pits are left in. They can also be dried or made into paste or syrup, as is popular in Iran (where the fruit is called “zoghal akhteh”).
Related species
The subgenus Cornus includes two additional edible species, the Japanese cornel and the blackfruit cornel.
Japanese cornel: Cornus mas can be confused with the very similar Asian species Cornus officinalis, but is of greater interest for our region because it is better adapted to Mediterranean climates. The fruit of the Japanese cornel is highly similar to the European cornel.
Blackfruit cornel: Northern California is home to Cornus sessilis, the blackfruit cornel. Information about the plant is limited, but it is likely as good to eat as the two other cornel species. The fruit is black in color when ripe, hence the name.
Kousa dogberries
Kousa dogwood trees are commonly planted in Portland as a street tree. They are easily recognizable from the peculiar, globular red fruit they bear from late summer through fall.
The ripe fruit has a sweet, tropical flavor. The skin, however, is granular and slightly bitter and should be removed before eating. Kousa dogberries can be eaten out of hand or the pulp can be processed for use in other applications. The fruit is not produced commercially, but it’s easily found in quantity on street trees.
The Himalayan dogwood is a large, evergreen tree native to the Himalayas, northern India and China. Like the closely related kousa dogwood, it’s in the subgenus Syncarpea. It is sometimes planted as an ornamental in our region. The fruit is edible and is undoubtedly eaten in its native range, but detailed information is hard to come by as an English speaker.
Native dogwoods
In the Pacific Northwest, we have several native species of dogwood with fruit that, although edible, is of minor use for culinary purposes. Their flavor or texture is generally undesirable. There is recorded use of these species by indigenous tribes, but the fruit was commonly mixed with others to make it palatable.
These species include the Pacific dogwood tree (Cornus nuttalllii), the Western dogwood shrub (Cornus sericea ssp. occidentalis), and the creeping dogwood or bunchberry (Cornus canadensis). The Western dogwood is a subspecies of the widely planted ornamental red-osier dogwood from eastern North America. The flowering dogwood, also commonly planted as an ornamental in the Pacific Northwest, is from the southeast of the US and its fruit is completely unpalatable.
