Crataegus mexicana | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Crataegus |
Species: | C. mexicana |
Binomial name | |
Crataegus mexicana | |
Synonyms | |
C. stipulacea Lodd. , nom. nud. Contents |
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. [2] The fruit of this species is one of the most useful among hawthorns.
Crataegus pubescens Steud. is a nomenclaturally illegitimate name (for Crataegus gracilior J.B.Phipps [3] ) that is commonly misapplied to this species. [4]
Tejocote, the Mexican name for this fruit, comes from the Nahuatl word texocotl which means 'stone fruit'. [5] The alternative (and ambiguous) name manzanita means 'little apple' in Spanish. The generic name, Crataegus , is derived from a Latinized Greek compound word literally meaning 'strong sharp,' in reference to the strong wood, and thorny habitus of several species.
The plant is a large shrub or small tree growing to 5–10 m tall, with a dense crown. The leaves are semi-evergreen, oval to diamond-shaped, 4–8 cm long, with a serrated margin. The flowers are off-white, 2 cm diameter. The fruit is a globose to oblong orange-red pome 2 cm long and 1.5 cm diameter, ripening in late winter only shortly before the flowers of the following year.
The fruit is eaten in Mexico cooked, raw, or canned. It resembles a crabapple, but it has three or sometimes more brown hard stones in the center. It is a main ingredient used in ponche , the traditional Mexican hot fruit punch that is served at Christmas time and on New Year's Eve. On Day of the Dead tejocote fruit as well as candy prepared from them are used as offerings to the dead, and rosaries made of the fruit are part of altar decorations. A mixture of tejocote paste, sugar, and chili powder produces a popular Mexican candy called rielitos, because it resembles a tiny train rail.
Due to its high pectin content, the fruit is processed to extract pectin for food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and textile uses.
Other uses include food for livestock (for which the leaves and fruits are used) and traditional medicinal uses; a Mexican hawthorn root infusion is used as a diuretic and as a remedy for diarrhea, and fruit-based preparations are a remedy for coughing and several heart conditions.
The Mexican hawthorn tree's wood is hard and compact, it is useful for making tool handles as well as for firewood. [6]
It is legal to import tejocote into the U.S. from Mexico as of 2015. [7]
The name C. pubescens Steud., published in 1840, is a better-known name for this species, but is illegitimate under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. It is a later homonym of C. pubescens C.Presl which was published in 1826 as the name of a species from Sicily.
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 mollis, known as downy hawthorn or red hawthorn, is a species of plant that occurs in eastern North America from southeastern North Dakota east to Nova Scotia and southwest to eastern Texas. The range of this species is from southern Ontario and Michigan to eastern North Dakota and southward to Denison, Texas, and Arizona. This tree inhabits wooded bottomlands, the prairie border, and the midwest savanna understorey.
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 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.
Crataegus brachyacantha is one of the "black-fruited" species of hawthorn, but it is only very distantly related to the other black-fruited species such as C. douglasii or C. nigra. The common names blueberry haw and blueberry hawthorn refer to the appearance of the fruit, which are almost blue, and does not refer to their taste. The species is rarely cultivated but has ornamental leaves, flowers, and foliage. It is native to Louisiana, and also occurs just across the border of neighbouring states.
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 holmesiana is a species of hawthorn closely related to Scarlet Hawthorn, C. coccinea, but with more elongated fruit and leaves.
Crataegus × lavalleei, sometimes known as hybrid cockspurthorn or Lavallée's hawthorn, is a hybrid that arose between cultivated specimens of two species in the genus Crataegus (Hawthorn). It is an ornamental small tree with glossy dark green unlobed leaves that is used horticulturally.
Crataegus macrosperma, the bigfruit hawthorn is a species of hawthorn native to most of the eastern United States and adjacent Canada, though uncommon at lower altitudes in the south. It is sometimes misidentified as C. flabellata. It is one of the earliest hawthorns to bloom in spring.
Crataegus marshallii is a species of hawthorn known by the common name parsley hawthorn. It is native to the southeastern United States.
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 spathulata is a species of hawthorn known by the common name littlehip hawthorn. It is native to the southeastern United States. It has very attractive small delicate leaves with a bluish appearance, pretty flowers and small orange to red fruit.
Crataegus submollis, known as the northern downy hawthorn, northern red haw, Quebec hawthorn, or hairy cockspurthorn, is a species of hawthorn that grows to about 7 m in height and typically carries large crops of red fruit.
Crataegus succulenta is a species of hawthorn known by the common names fleshy hawthorn, succulent hawthorn, and round-fruited cockspurthorn. It is "the most wide-ranging hawthorn in North America", native to much of southern Canada, and the United States as far south as Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In this wide area there are many variant forms that have received species names, but can also be considered as synonyms. It is thought to be the parent, along with Crataegus crus-galli, of the tetraploid species Crataegus persimilis.
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 tracyi is a species of hawthorn from Texas and Mexico. It is a shrub to about 6 m in height with white flowers, round red somewhat hairy fruit, and often with red autumn leaves. It is quite variable in appearance. It is rarely cultivated but has the potential to become a valuable ornamental plant.
Crataegus × grignonensis sometimes spelled grignoniensis, is a hybrid hawthorn commonly known as "Grignon hawthorn". The hybrid originated as a seedling of Crataegus mexicana. It is an excellent small ornamental tree up to about 5 meters in height, with deep red fruit that contain 1 or 2 pyrenes.
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.
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