photos by Jonathan Schechter

In the mountains of North Carolina, April 12, 2012

The flowering dogwood is found in a few locations in Oakland County, Michigan and is native to North Carolina and much of the eastern United States. Its natural habitat is not staked out with ropes in a sunny suburban front yard.  In  the wilds it thrives under tall pine trees or on the edge of a deciduous forest. This special  microclimate of mountain habitat gives the dogwoods  filtered sunlight, high humidity, and much  needed protection from drying winds and heavy snows. And  the layers of leaf litter that falls each year fertilizes the plant and aids the dogwoods shallow root system. Locals down here  in North Carolina I just met on a trail tell me black bears munch the berries and that this beauty of the woods is their State flower!