You may have known that the flowering dogwood is Missouri’s state tree, but did you know that a Christian legend says that the dogwood was used to create the cross that Jesus Christ was crucified on? Here are some more quick facts about this pretty tree.

Along with Missouri, dogwoods are the state flower of North Carolina.

Dogwoods bloom in a variety of colors. While white blossoms are very popular, red and pink flowering dogwoods are just as beautiful if not more so.

The dogwood is said to have been the largest and strongest tree in Jerusalem—much larger than it is today. The story goes that Jesus shortened and twisted the tree after his resurrection to stop it from being used to crucify other people, and transformed the flower structures to resemble bloody crosses.

Popular landscaping trees, dogwoods prefer cool, shady areas for optimal growth.

Tennis rackets, wine and fruit presses, horse-drawn carts, and many other products have been made from the tree.

Dogwoods are featured in many different U.S. state and Canadian province insignias. British Columbia’s official flower is the Pacific Dogwood.

Dogwoods are tolerant of drought, disease, pests, and pretty much anything else you can throw at a tree, making them popular, hardy choices for a garden.

“Dogwood” comes from the word “dagwood.” This is because the stems of the tree were used to make dags, or daggers, as well as arrows, tool handles, and other products.

Chaucer refers to the dogwood in The Canterbury Tales; he calls it the whippletree.