This section is from the book "Commercial Gardening Vol4", by John Weathers (the Editor). Also available from Amazon: Commercial Gardening, A Practical & Scientific Treatise For Market Gardeners.
There are several more or less ornamental shrubs belonging to this genus. C. alba, 10 ft., has creamy-white flowers and white fruits. The variety Spathi is a fine foliage plant, the leaves being bronzy in spring, changing to green with an irregular golden border in summer. C. capitata (perhaps still better known as Benthamia fragifera) is the "Strawberry Tree" of Northern India and China. It grows 40 ft. high in favoured spots, and has clusters of white flowers succeeded by large globular red fruits composed of many hexagonal drupes. C. florida is the "Flowering Dogwood" of the United States. The greenish-yellow flowers have four large white bracts. C. Kousa (Benthamia japonica), from Japan, is a beautiful shrub, with large white bracts. C. Mas (or Mascula) is the Cornelian Cherry, 10-15 ft., with yellow flowers from February to April. It is very largely grown, and has several varieties, including variegata, with green and silvery foliage; elegantissima, creamy white tinged red; and aurea tricolor, with white, red, and yellow shades. C. sanguinea, the Common Dogwood of Britain, is remarkable for the deep vinous red of its stems so conspicuous in winter. Its creamy-white flowers are succeeded by small black berries. There are several varieties, including a variegated one.