Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Cornales
Family: Cornaceae
Genus: Cornus
Subgenus: Swida
Species: C. amomum
Binomial name: Cornus amomum
Common name: Silky dogwood, Swamp dogwood, Kinnikinnik, Red willow, Silky cornel, Squawbush and Indigo dogwood.
Cornus amomum is a small to medium sized, multi-stemmed, deciduous, suckering shrub that can grow up to 4 m tall. Its branches may bend down and root in wet soil. It is a shrub is a species of dogwood native to eastern North America, from Ontario and Quebec south to Arkansas and Georgia and other parts of North America.
The leaves are opposite, 10 cm long and 7 cm broad and oval with an acute apex. The small yellowish white flowers are produced in late spring or early summer in cymes. The fruit is a small blue drupe that matures in late summer.