Crataegus grayana

• Scientific synonym

  Crataegus flabellata var. grayana

• Growing form and height

  Thorny shrub or small tree. 2–5 m (7–16 ft.).

• Flower

  Regular (actinomorphic), 15–18 mm (0.6–0.7 in.) across. Calyx-lobes 5, long, linear to narrowly elliptic. Petals 5, white. Stamens 20, anthers reddish. Pistil formed from 5 fused carpels. Inflorescence a corymb, flower-stalks downy.

• Leaves

  Alternate on annual shoot. Stalked, hairy at first, later hairy only along the veins. Blade 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in.) long, ovate to elliptic, doubly serrate to shallowly incised.

• Buds

  Reddish-brown, egg-shaped.

• Fruit

  Globose to barrel-shaped red drupe, haw.

• Habitat

  An ornamental. Often remaining in old gardens, sometimes an escape.

• Flowering time

  June.

Hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) are a large and diverse genus. Especially the North American species are taxonomically difficult. Almost all species used as ornamentals belong to this group. The genus is also very old. In North America, fossils from the Cretaceous (140–170 mill. years ago) have been found. Crataegus grayana is a common ornamental in Finland. It is a very variable, thorny shrub or small tree. The berries are edible, but the hard seed has to be removed.
Crataegus flabellata var. flabellata is a variety of this hawthorn and known by the common name fanleaf hawthorn. The number of stamens is 10 (20 with var. grayana). Var. flabellata is native to northeastern USA and adjacent Canada.

Redhaw Hawthorn (Siberian Hawthorn)

Crataegus sanguinea

As the name tells us, this hawthorn is native to Siberia (more exactly southern Siberia, also China and Mongolia). The leaves resemble leaves of Crataegus grayana. Shoots are purplish red (the species epithet sanguinea tells about blood), thorns (ca. 3 cm) are shorter than thorns of Crataegus grayana (3–5 cm), redhaw hawthorn can be also non-thorny.

→ Distribution map (Kasviatlas, University of Helsinki)