Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida

Flowering Dogwoods are just coming into bloom. I took this picture today in the woods east of the PGT Visitor Center. This shot shows the flowers as they are opening; the large white petals have curved up and out and are about to swing open into the flat position that you normally associate with the flower (see picture below).

Dogwood are my favorite flowering tree. We are lucky enough to have thousands of them in the woods at the PGT. Technically the white petals are not flowers but are bracts. The flowers are the tiny green buttons on the disk in the center.