The flowering dogwood, Missouri's state tree, is small in size, rarely growing over 40 feet in height. However, what it may lack in size it recoils in strength with its heavy bark and highly prized hard wood. The dogwood sprouts tiny greenish yellow flowers in clusters, with each flower surrounded by 4 white petals. The oval leaves are olive green above and covered with silvery hairs underneath. In the fall, the leaves turn scarlet or orange and bright red fruits grow on the tree. Thriving in open sunny locations these handsome trees, with their gracefully natural branch structure, are unique to our regions landscape. It is for these magnificent qualities that the tree and its flower serve as government insignia to states such as Virginia, North Carolina and Missouri.
Hand selected by our Chairman of the Board, Sam B. Cook, in 1965, the dogwood flower symbolizes the essence of Central Bancompany. It was chosen not only for its rare elegance and beauty but as representation of growth, strength, environmental sensitivity, and for our stand out quality in the financial sphere and in our own communities. It is an icon that has stood the test of time.
