Crataegus mollis

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Crataegus mollis
Crataegus-mollis-flowers.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Crataegus
Section: Crataegus sect. Coccineae
Series: Crataegus ser. Molles
Species:
C. mollis
Binomial name
Crataegus mollis
(Torr. & A.Gray) Scheele
Synonyms [2]
  • C. coccinea var. mollis Torrey & A.Gray

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. [3] This tree inhabits wooded bottomlands, the prairie border, and the midwest savanna understorey.

Contents

Description

Fruit of Crataegus mollis. Crataegus-mollis-fruit.jpg
Fruit of Crataegus mollis.

This tree grows to 10–13 m (33–43 ft) high with a dense crown of thorny branches and an ash-grey trunk. The leaves are 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in length and often drop in late summer due to defoliation by leaf diseases. The tree seems to suffer little from the early loss of its leaves. Among the earliest in the genus to bloom, downy hawthorn also has earliest ripening fruit, which decorate the defoliated tree in late summer and early fall. The large brightly colored edible fruit of the species ripen from the middle of August to early in September. [3] It is closely related to Crataegus submollis , but the two species have separate native ranges. Amongst other differences between these two species, C. submollis has approximately 10 stamens, whereas C. mollis has approximately 20 stamens per flower. [4]

The white flowers are borne in clusters at the end of the branches in spring. The bright red edible fruit ripens in late summer and early fall [5] and falls soon after.

This species is a target of Gypsy moths. Leaf rusts and fire blight are among the many foliage diseases to affect this species. The sharp thorns are a hazard.[ citation needed ]

This species is uncommon in cultivation.

The seeds of the species usually do not germinate until two to three years after the fruit has ripened as they have a latent period. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Crataegus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the rose family Rosaceae

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayhaw</span> Species of fruit and plant

Mayhaw is the name given to the fruit of the species of Crataegus series Aestivales that are common in wetlands throughout the southern United States. The principal species are C. aestivalis, the eastern mayhaw, and C. opaca, the western mayhaw.

<i>Crataegus monogyna</i> Species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae

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.

<i>Malus coronaria</i> Species of tree

Malus coronaria, also known by the names sweet crabapple or garland crab, is a North American species of Malus (crabapple).

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.

<i>Crataegus crus-galli</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

<i>Crataegus macrosperma</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

<i>Crataegus marshallii</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus marshallii is a species of hawthorn known by the common name parsley hawthorn. It is native to the southeastern United States.

<i>Crataegus nigra</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus nigra, the Hungarian thorn, Hungarian hawthorn or black hawthorn, is a black-fruited species of hawthorn native to the western balkan and the Pannonian Basin, spanning from Slovakia to Albania. The fruit, which is up to 10 mm across, can be consumed fresh or cooked.

<i>Crataegus pruinosa</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

<i>Crataegus punctata</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

<i>Crataegus submollis</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

<i>Crataegus wattiana</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus wattiana, the Altai hawthorn, is an Asian species of hawthorn. The original description states that it has yellow fruit with five stones (pyrenes). Crataegus wattiana var. wattiana has become naturalized in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.

<i>Crataegus mexicana</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

<i>Crataegus phippsii</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus phippsii is a species of hawthorn native to south-central British Columbia, Washington state, and Montana. It forms a shrub or small tree to 7 m in height with leaves that have white hair on the underside, and fruit that ripen through red to purplish black. It appears to have potential as an ornamental plant.

<i>Crataegus pulcherrima</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus pulcherrima is a species of Hawthorn native to the southeastern United States. This species and those related to it that are classified in Crataegus series Pulcherrimae have been largely ignored since they were originally described in 1903, but warrant consideration as ornamental cultivated plants.

<i>Crataegus opaca</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus opaca, known as the western mayhaw, is a shrub or small tree of the southern United States. It is one of several species of hawthorn with fruits known as "mayhaws".

Crataegus texana, the Texas hawthorn, is a member of the family Rosaceae. Typically, it is found in the form of a small tree or a large shrub and blooms in early spring, usually in the months of March and April. Flowers of the Texas Hawthorn are white and usually produce small, one-inch, scarlet fruits that are said to resemble tiny red apples. Its twigs are usually armed with thorns that can grow to be about one to three inches long.

<i>Crataegus pennsylvanica</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

<i>Crataegus <span style="font-style:normal;">ser.</span> Molles</i> Species of hawthorn

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.

References

  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI); IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2018). "Crataegus mollis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T135957515A135957517. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T135957515A135957517.en . Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  2. Phipps, J.B. (2015), "Crataegus mollis (Torrey & A. Gray) Scheele, Linnaea. 21: 569. 1848", in L. Brouillet; K. Gandhi; C.L. Howard; H. Jeude; R.W. Kiger; J.B. Phipps; A.C. Pryor; H.H. Schmidt; J.L. Strother; J.L. Zarucchi (eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico, vol. 9: Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. 1 2 Palmer, Ernest (1946). "Crataegus in the Northeastern and Central United States and Adjacent Canada". Brittonia. 5 (5): 471–490. doi:10.2307/2804829. JSTOR   2804829. S2CID   23125349.
  4. Phipps, J.B., O'Kennon, R.J., Lance, R.W. (2003). Hawthorns and medlars. Royal Horticultural Society, Cambridge, U.K.
  5. Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 477. ISBN   0-394-50760-6.
  6. Davis, Wilmer; Rose, R. Catlin (1912). "The Effect of External Conditions Upon the After-Ripening of the Seeds of Crataegus mollis". Botanical Gazette. 54 (1): 49–62. doi:10.1086/330863. S2CID   84608408.