Its called a fungus.

"Rick" wrote:

Hello,
My dogwood in NJ gets this way every August. Watering doesnt help. It is in
a shady spot in my yard and was planted about 5 yrs ago. Same problem every
year, starts out OK.
What can I do to fix this problem? Thanks.
Pix at http://www.rauth.com/pix/DSCF8634.JPG