Most Dogwood flowers are pure white with rusty red spots around the edges of all four petals. The white color is considered a symbol of purity in Western culture, although it is the color of death in many Eastern cultures instead. Christian sources claim the rusty spots on the petals are the marks of the Crucifixion because they resemble blood.
I love the dogwood. I have a lot of dogwood trees but the flowers are too high to get good pictures. According to the legend, not only does the white represent purity but the ends of the petals are rusty nail prints and the center is a crown.
