I’m pictured above with Cornus kousa, a tree that is native to Japan, China and Korea. The fruits are edible, creamy and mildly sweet. They have seeds inside them, but the flesh is creamy and tastes like lychee. The fruits look like compound tetrahedrons. The pink-orange coloring reminds me of rainbow sherbet. 
You can also identify a dogwood tree by pulling apart a leaf and looking for strands connecting the veins. 
The fruits of the native Pacific Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii, are said to be less tasty, though I haven’t come across them yet myself. The bark can be boiled to make a black dye, the leaves can be dried and smoked, the wood can be used for bow and arrow material, and a decoction of the bark works as a laxative. I recognize Pacific Dogwood by its beautiful flowers.
Image from Wikimedia
I’ve seen a few Cornus kousa dogwood planted in parking lots around northeast Portland, such as at the Wells Fargo Bank on NE MLK Ave, and along city streets, such as by the retail shops at NE 30th & Killingsworth. Even if you’re not in Portland, where have you seen dogwoods?
“China girl” and “Milky way” are said to be the most delicious. I planted them last year, waiting until they produce…
Thanks for identifying this plant and that it has fruit. I live in Greenville, SC and have one of these in my backyard. Got it from a tree guy when I moved into my house 10 years ago. It’s covered with the little cherry like fruit. Not a bad taste either. What a surprise. I have a pink flowering dogwood in my front yard but it does not appear to bear fruit. Thanks again, Rich
look out for cornus’ mas, kousa chinensis (better fruit than kousa), elliptica, canadensis, capita, officinalis. and theres also the bunch berry, native to parts of north america.
I’ve been trying to figure out what the heck to do with them. Apparently they get bitter when cooked… makes it tricky cause I was thinking fruit leather as a way to tame the mealiness and strain out all those seeds. They’re just not that great raw. Breaking through that skin reminds me a little of eating a lychee but the fruit is more like an apricot. Hence the fruit leather. Maybe I could just press the flesh through a sieve and mix it with honey without heating it, then try making the leather? It cooks at such a low heat and with the added honey and some lemon maybe it wouldn’t get too bitter?
One day I learn about a new fruit to forage and the very next day I stumble across it. Quite fortuitous and tasty.
I ate several in one sitting last year and got a really upset stomach. Did you have any issues when you ate them?
Hi Rae!
Nope, haven’t had any issues, and I’ve eaten them a bunch of times. I do have a stomach of steel, though. What quantity did you eat?
Dennis,
When it looks to be a delicious pinky-red!
Michelle,
Let me know what you think of it!
Coleus,
Glad you like the makeover! I’ve been tinkering around, trying to find the right visual fit.
If you saw those fruits on the tree, my guess it was the cultivar like the one I was eating from. Otherwise, there are quite a few different species of dogwood, some of which are native to other regions of the U.S.
How do I know when the fruit is ripe?
No way! While me and my partner were biking I kept seeing all these trees with red fruit on them. I’m SURE this is what they are (:
Can’t wait to give one a taste!
Whoa, rad new lay-out!
I have seen Dogwood in eastern Oklahoma. Not sure if it’s the same variety, or a transplant.