Evening star., 1923-05-14
Pleads for Dogwood
Native Flower Should Be Adopt.
ed for d. c., Saws Letter.
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
The present seems to be a psyche
logical moment to put in nomination
District flower-namely. the common
Towering dogwood (cornus fiorida).
From data furnished by recent arti-
Gle in The Star the question seems
to me to require further considera-
tion before an authoritative decision
Is made. SO far as I recall, ! never
before saw or heard the nasturtium
SO much as mentioned in this con-
nection, and I hope this reference
has not struck deep root. ! do not
know by whom or why the sentiment
OF patriotism" has been attached to
this plant, but 1t is difficult to dis
cover In the plant itself any charac-
ter which fits 1T for the emblem of an
American community. 1t Is not ma
tive to the United States and in
itself is merely an attractive garden
flower not superior in beauty to the
sweet pea and not approaching the
classic elegance of the lily Of the
valley. But the choice of a local
emblem should not be determined by
IL bookish sentiment nor controllingly
by the beauty or interest of the plant
itself Local association should take
precedence of other sentiment.
At least nine out of ten botanists
will agree with me that the District
flower should be a native plant, or
at the very least. one that is in some
way distinctly identified with the To-
cality. 1t should, in addition TO that,
be conspicuous, well known. digni-
fled and attractive plant. A green
house exotic like the holy ghost
flower. however lovely in itself, can
not be thought of for this purpose.
The suggestion of rosemary" ! sup
pose, was in jest; but, still. let us
notice how absurd it would be to
adopt as our emblem an old world
plant. scarcely known in this country,
merely because 1t has in literature
Il certain sentiment attached to it,
Turning to the list of national and
state flowers in the article above re-
ferred to. we find that the great ma
jority of the states have taken a
plant with local association. All of
the states west Of the Mississippi and
some east Of II have chosen appro-
pirate native plants. Some eastern
states have taken extensively culti-
waited plants-apple. peach, orange,
clover-which is in a measure justi-
fed. A few have taken favorite cul-
tivated fowerS-rose, carnation-
without regard to origin. The west
ern states have chosen more wisely
than the eastern. Let us follow their
Hey nave taken
plants characteristic OF their own
fora. If we wish to express patriot
ism in our District flower, then let
us choose one that in some way be-
| longs to our own country and to the
District. preferably a plant native to
the region. Several flowers can be
thought Of in this connection. but
the common dogwood seems to me de-
cidedly the best. II is an exclusively
North American tree, common in and
around the District. striking and dig
nified. known to all and liked by all.
The foliage is not unpleasing, and
the clusters Of bright red berries are
attractive in autumn. It's figure can
be utilized in ornamental design and
the tree itself can be grown in parks
and on lawns. The pink -fiowered
form seems to be that which is chiefly
cultivated al present, but this need
not continue to be SO.
7 hope there will be further ex-
pressions of view on this subject.
especially with reference to this
nomination. Though it has no bear
| ing on this question, it may be of
interest to laymen to know that the
real flowers of the dogwood are the
small green bodies which are sur
rounded by the snowy white or pink
blades. while these are not. as might
be supposed. the petals. but what the
botanist calls an 'involucre.'
EDWARD S. STEELE.