Cornus excelsa Kunth

One of three Cornus taxa endemic to central America, not often encountered, but worthy of closer attention. The other two, Cornus disciflora and C. florida subsp. urbiniana, belong to subgen. Cynoxylon, but C. excelsa belongs in subgen. Thelycrania, characterised by white cymose inflorescences and white or often blue berries, and often pigmented young shoots. The species’ typical habitat is similar to that of its close relatives in North America (C. racemosa, C. foemina et al.) – early successional vegetation associated with moist mixed or pine-oak forest (González-Espinosa et al. 2011), often in thickets and growing beside watercourses. The phylogenetic study by Du et al. (2023) recovered it as sister to the North American C. drummondii.

Most floras describe the mature fruits as pale blue, but observations suggest that the colour can vary from pale blue, through vivid caerulean, to a very dark indigo (e.g. numerous occurrences on GBIF); in some forms the pedicels become red in fruit, the effect recalling Cornus amomum, with which Cornus excelsa shares a number of characters.

Most plants in UK cultivation derive from a collection by Mark Fillan and Nick Macer (F&M 57) made on Pico de Orizaba in 2004, from a 10 m tree growing at around 2500 m, ‘laden with sky-blue fruits’ (N. Macer pers. comm. 2024; Pan Global Plants 2026). The environmental tolerances of the species have yet to be established, though experience to date with propagations from the latter collection suggest it is relatively hardy in the UK climate. At the Arboretum des Pouyouleix, Dordogne, France a thriving wild-collected plant (ABO1640BCH 2009) from near the border between Hidalgo and Puebla at 2100 m has proved quick-growing, flowering and fruiting when very young (B. Chassé pers. comm. 2026). The species appears to be hardly cultivated in the United States, at least in public collections – it would not be expected to survive continental winters, and as a species of montane forests, its capacity to tolerate hot, humid summers must be questionable.

As discussed under Cornus amomum, the New World dogwoods in subgen. Thelycrania have more to offer than might at first appear. C. excelsa is well worth attempting for the fruit alone, but one would also predict that plants ought to respond well to stooling – the experiment might well be worthwhile, especially in forms with purplish young growth.

Curiously, the accepted name Cornus excelsa Kunth was published simultaneously with its synonym C. tolucensis Kunth, priority assigned alphabetically, by virtue of which appeared first on the page (Bonpland, von Humboldt & Kunth 1818).