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.
Chauncey Delos Beadle was a Canadian-born botanist and horticulturist active in the southern United States. He was educated in horticulture at Ontario Agricultural College (1884) and Cornell University (1889). In 1890 the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted hired him to oversee the nursery at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina on a temporary basis. Olmsted had been impressed by Beadle's "encyclopedic" knowledge of plants. Beadle ended up working at Biltmore for more than 60 years, until his death in 1950. He is best known for his horticultural work with azaleas, and described several species and varieties of plants from the southern Appalachian region. He and three friends, including his "driver and companion" Sylvester Owens, styled themselves the Azalea Hunters. The group traveled over the eastern United States for a period of fifteen years, studying and collecting native plants. In 1940 Beadle donated his entire collection of 3,000 plants to Biltmore Estates.
Crataegus douglasii is a North American species of hawthorn known by the common names black hawthorn and Douglas' thornapple. It is most abundant in the Pacific Northwest.
The name Crataegus columbiana is a source of considerable confusion. The species named by Thomas J. Howell is now considered to be the same as C. douglasii, named earlier, and the earlier name should be used instead. However, some varieties of C. columbiana have also been named that are not related to C. douglasii. C. columbiana has been used by some authors for Crataegus piperiBritton, which is now known as C. chrysocarpa var. piperi.
Crataegus aemula, the Rome hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn that is common in some parts of Mississippi and Georgia, and also occurs in Alabama. It is a perennial shrub or tree. Its habitats include oak flatwoods and brush.
Crataegus arcana, the Carolina Hawthorn, is a rare and poorly known species of hawthorn in the rose family. It grows as a shrub or tree and is endemic to the eastern United States in North America. It is thought to be allied with series Pruinosae.
Crataegus biltmoreana is a species of hawthorn native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of many hawthorn species named by Chauncey Delos Beadle when he worked at the Biltmore Estate. The fruit are green, yellow, or orange. It is sometimes considered to be a synonym of C. intricata.
Crataegus populnea is a hawthorn native to the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. The flowers have about 10 stamens with red to purple anthers, and the fruit are orange to red, about 1 cm in diameter, spherical or oblong. Crataegus compta is a variant with pear-shaped fruit.
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 ellwangeriana is a named hawthorn species that has been poorly understood and often misidentified. It is now considered to be a synonym of C. coccinea var. coccinea. A study concluded, that C. pennsylvanica of series Molles has frequently been misidentified as C. ellwangeriana.
Crataegus flabellata is a species of hawthorn known by the common name fanleaf hawthorn. It is native to the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. It is intermediate in appearance between C. macrosperma and C. chrysocarpa. C. macrosperma, which occurs throughout the range of C. flabellata and also in the southeastern U.S., is often misidentified as C. flabellata.
Crataegus marshallii is a species of hawthorn known by the common name parsley hawthorn. It is native to the southeastern United States.
Crataegus pruinosa is a species of hawthorn known by the common name frosted hawthorn. It is native to a wide area of the eastern United States and southern Canada, and is sometimes considered to be several species, rather than just one.
Crataegus visenda is a species of hawthorn from the southeastern United States, in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. It is a large shrub or small tree to 10 m tall. It has been considered as a synonym of Crataegus flava Aiton
Crataegus coccinea, the scarlet hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn around which there is considerable confusion because the name has been misapplied for a long time. It has been shown to be the same as C. pedicellata, and under the rules of botanical nomenclature, the older name should be used.
Crataegus pennsylvanica, known as the Pennsylvania thorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Delaware, New York, North Carolina, Ontario, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, that grows to about 8 m in height. The mature trees have few thorns.
Series Populneae is a series within the genus Crataegus that contains at least eight species of hawthorn trees and shrubs, native to Eastern North America. Only one species, C. populnea is widespread.
Series Tenuifoliae is a series within the genus Crataegus that contains at least seven species of hawthorn trees and shrubs, native to Eastern North America, with one disjunct species in the mountains of New Mexico.
Crataegus stolonifera is a hawthorn species native to the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada.
Crataegus schuettei, the royal hawthorn or Schuette's hawthorn, is a species of shrubby tree in the family Rosaceae, native to northeastern North America; from Arkansas and North Carolina north to Ontario and Quebec. It is typically found growing in forest edges and old fields. Its ripe fruit is red.
