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Crataegus
Also called Hawthorns, Haw, Haws, Hybrid Cockspur Thorn, Thornapple
Hawthorns are a genus of several hundred shrubs and small trees in the rose family, mostly native to temperate Northern Hemisphere regions, known for thorny branches, lobed leaves, white flower clusters and red berry-like fruit called haws. Commonly grown members are used as hedges, ornamental trees and wildlife plants.
Crataegus (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, May-tree, whitethorn, Mayflower or hawberry, is a genus of several hundred species of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America. The name "hawthorn" was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe, especially the common hawthorn C. monogyna, and the unmodified name is often so used in Britain and Ireland. The name is now also applied to the entire genus and to the related Asian genus Rhaphiolepis.
Although it is commonly stated that hawthorns can be propagated by cutting, this is difficult to achieve with rootless stem pieces. Small plants or suckers are often transplanted from the wild. Seeds require stratification and take one or two years to germinate. Seed germination is improved if the pyrenes that contain the seed are subjected to extensive drying at room temperature, before stratification. Uncommon forms can be grafted onto seedlings of other species.
Hawthorns provide food and shelter for many species of birds and mammals, and the flowers are important for many nectar-feeding insects. Hawthorns are also used as food plants by the larvae of a large number of Lepidoptera species, such as the small eggar moth, E. lanestris. Haws are important for wildlife in winter, particularly thrushes and waxwings; these birds eat the haws and disperse the seeds in their droppings.
Azarole · Cockspur hawthorn · Harbison's hawthorn · Various Leaved Hawthorn · Midland Hawthorn · Manzanita tejocotera · Downy hawthorn · Hawthorn · Glossy hawthorn · Plumleaf hawthorn · Washington hawthorn · Chinese haw
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Crataegus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
