The Kousa Dogwood, also known as the Japanese Flowering Dogwood , is a small deciduous tree about 8–12 m tall, native to eastern Asia. Like most dogwoods, it has opposite, simple leaves, which are 4–10 cm long.
The tree is extremely showy when in bloom, but what appear to be four petaled white flowers are actually bracts spread open below the cluster of inconspicuous yellow-green flowers. The blossoms appear is in late spring, weeks after the tree leafs out.