Question: A couple of these are growing in a dry shade bed that I've been cleaning out. I've tried to identify …
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Question
A couple of these are growing in a dry shade bed that I've been cleaning out. I've tried to identify them and they may be immature shrubs. Possible related to a dogwood, but I'm not sure. I need to know if they are weeds or beneficial natives to northeastern Massachusetts. I pulled one and it came out easily with a fine root system. Thanks for any help.
Answer
Dear Lennie, I can't tell you for sure what species this is from the images attached. To identify the shrub as a member of the dogwood group, you can carefully tear a leaf and notice that the veins have fibrous material that connects them (view this image online: http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac306/Pitdog_2010/003-14.jpg to see what I mean). While this will not identify the genus, it will identify the dogwood group. Your plant may be native or not. Benthamidia japonica (Kousa dogwood) has leaves similar to your plant but is native to Asia. I would not be able to help further without a specimen (unfortunately). I hope this is of some help. Best wishes.
