With the recent passage of Easter, and my unsuccessful attempt to save what may have been the largest dogwood in New York City, I have been recounting the legend of the dogwood tree to many of my friends & acquaintances. I don't think a single one of them had ever heard of it.
Now, I grew up in a plant savvy family, and in a section of the country where the dogwood is celebrated, even revered, but still I am very surprised at the lack of knowledge of what was once common cultural lore. The story was turned into a bluegrass song performed by several once-famous country crooners, but seems to have been a folk or church song before that. Its origins may lie in Appalachia or the Ozark mountains where dogwoods and deep-rooted Christianity are both common.
Regardless of one's religious affiliation (or lack of, in my case), what's troubling here is the loss of cultural knowledge that leads to public inability to 'read' the landscape. We no longer know what is meaningful — or formerly meaningful — in the natural world around us, and consequently, no longer value it. (Leading to the casual removal of trees planted to memorialize a soldier's supreme sacrifice.) This happens even in places like Cypress Hills National Cemetery which is on the National Registry of Historic Places and is an Historic American Landscape.
Many, many of our native plants have stories, and when we lived in closer quarters with them, most Americans knew these stories and were better connected with the world around them. Internet access now has everyone fully up-to-date on the likes of Snooki and Rihanna (for better or worse), but it also gives us a chance to reconnect with our natural heritage too. Do yourself a favor and search for the Legend of the Dogwood Tree. Listen to recordings of the great American performers of yesterday. The more we reconnect with this lost knowledge, the richer the world around us will be and we won't throw it all away so carelessly.
Here's a link to a poetry version by the great Geraldine Farrar, and you can watch Wilma Lee Cooper below.