Cornus sericea is very similar to C. alba. These two taxa are in recent floras most often treated as separate species rather than subspecies, being vicariant in north temperate to subarctic Asia and America, respectively, with no zone of contact. There is some confusion about the differentiating characters. The indumentum on the lower leaf surface is sometimes claimed to differ, but both taxa are fairly densely hairy, with appressed medifixed hairs, sometimes with a few unbranched hairs among them. The shape of leaves differ, although there is much overlap; C. sericea leaves may be considerably larger and are more distinctly acuminate, often tapering into a long apex. The length of the calyx teeth also gives some guidance. The most reliable character, besides the mode of growth, is the shape of the fruit stones (see fig.), easy to observe in herbarium specimens with dried-up fruits. This means, however, that much of the herbarium material is not possible to determine with full certainty.