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.
Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world.
Crataegus laevigata, known as the Midland hawthorn, English hawthorn, woodland hawthorn, or mayflower, is a species of hawthorn native to western and central Europe, from Great Britain and Spain east to the Czech Republic and Hungary. It is also present in North Africa. The species name is sometimes spelt C. levigata, but the original orthography is C. lævigata.
Crataegus flava, common names summer haw and yellow-fruited thorn, is a species of hawthorn native to the southeastern United States from Virginia to Florida, west to Mississippi. Due to an error by Sargent the name C. flava was, and often still is, used for a different species C. lacrimata, which belongs to a different series, the Lacrimatae series. Flavae is another group of species that were thought to be related to the misidentified C. flava, and although it is now apparent that they are not related, the name of the group remains. Because the true identity of this species has only recently been discovered, the name is rarely used correctly. Individuals with red fruit occur; these have sometimes been assigned to a separate species, Crataegus senta.
Crataegus azarolus is a species of hawthorn known by the common names azarole, azerole, and Mediterranean medlar. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin and is a common plant there, growing on sites comparable to those the European common hawthorn grows on. In the Arab countries it is the most common hawthorn species. When growing in the wild, the azerole bears plentiful crops of haw fruits, which are similar to the haws of the European common hawthorn, but more plump.
Crataegus chrysocarpa is a species of hawthorn that is native to much of the continental United States and Canada. Common names fireberry hawthorn and goldenberry hawthorn, as well as the scientific name all refer to the colour of the unripe fruit, although the mature fruit is red and in var. vernonensis is "deep claret-colored … nearly black when over-ripe".
Crataegus crus-galli is a species of hawthorn known by the common names cockspur hawthorn and cockspur thorn. It is native to eastern North America from Ontario to Texas to Florida, and it is widely used in horticulture. It is thought to be the parent, along with Crataegus succulenta, of the tetraploid species Crataegus persimilis.
Crataegus cuneata is a species of hawthorn known by the common names Chinese hawthorn or Japanese hawthorn. It is native to China, and is widely cultivated in Japan. It is used for bonsai. The fruit can be red or yellow. Its habitats include valleys and thickets.
Crataegus orientalis, known as oriental hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to the Mediterranean region, Turkey, Caucasia, Crimea, and western Iran, with fruits that are orange or various shades of red.
Crataegus punctata is a species of hawthorn known by the common names dotted hawthorn or white haw that is native to most of the eastern United States and eastern Canada. While some sources claim it is the state flower of Missouri, the actual legislation does not identify an exact species. Furthermore, the Missouri Department of Conservation asserts the Crataegus mollis was specifically designated as the state flower.
Crataegus tanacetifolia, the tansy-leaved thorn, is a species of hawthorn. It is native to Turkey where it occurs on dry slopes or in rocky places, usually on calcareous rocks.
Crataegus mexicana is a species of hawthorn known by the common names tejocote, manzanita, tejocotera and Mexican hawthorn. It is native to the mountains of Mexico and parts of Guatemala, and has been introduced in the Andes. The fruit of this species is one of the most useful among hawthorns.
Crataegus iracunda, with common name passionate hawthorn, and sometimes called the stolon-bearing hawthorn is a North American species of hawthorn. It was described in 1899 by Chauncey Delos Beadle of the Biltmore Herbarium in North Carolina. Taxonomic opinions have differed about this species, and to complicate matters Crataegus macrosperma and various species of C. series Populneae have frequently been misidentified as C. iracunda, leading to differing statements about its geographic range. The 2015 Flora of North America considers its range to be in the southeastern U.S., restricted to the US states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Crataegus scabrifolia is a hawthorn from China that grows at altitudes between 1500 and 3000 m in areas with high rainfall. It is usually a large shrub or small tree, and usually without thorns. The edible fruit are large for a hawthorn, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, red or yellow, and are sold in local markets. The tree is apparently not cultivated outside China.
Crataegus sargentii is a species of hawthorn from the southeastern United States, commonly called Sargent's hawthorn. It is a shrub to about 5 m in height with white flowers, and fruit up to about 1 cm in diameter that are yellow or yellow flushed with pink or red.
Crataegus harbisonii is a rare species of hawthorn. Once common in the Nashville area, its population has been reduced significantly in modern times. It is now currently known only from small populations in Davidson and Obion County, Tennessee. This species has been taken into cultivation. It forms a vigorous shrub to 8 m in height with hairy leaves, attractive flowers and round reddish fruit.
Crataegus pycnoloba is a species of hawthorn in the Rosaceae family. It is native to the mountains of the northern and central Peloponnesus of Greece. The plant is a shrub or rarely a small tree. The fruit are red or dark reddish brown when immature, but later develop a yellow background colour.
Series Molles is a series within the genus Crataegus that contains at least six species of hawthorn trees and shrubs, native to Eastern North America. Some of the species are cultivated as ornamental plants. They have relatively large leaves, large flowers, and bloom early for hawthorns. The plant parts are usually hairy, particularly in early growth, and the fruit are generally red and are large for hawthorn fruit.
Crataegus senta is a putative species of hawthorn native to North Carolina. Most authorities have it as a synonym of Crataegus flava, the summer haw or yellow-fruited thorn, from which it differs by having red fruit.
