Description

Leaves: Alternate; simple; broad ovate; 1" to 2-1/2" long and nearly as wide; deciduous; fairly flat across the bottom, with 3 to 5 finely toothed, distinct lobes; dark green and glabrous in summer, turning yellow-orange to brown in fall; petiole 1/4" to 3/4" long.

Twigs/buds: Twigs greenish; glabrous; thorns are fairly short, 1/2" to 1" long, and may not be present.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect, sometimes white, but often pink, or red, depending on cultivar; 5/8" diameter; often doubled.  Fruit a 1/4" to 1/2" diameter pome, orange-red to deep red when mature, fairly dull; persistent into winter.

Bark: Similar to other Crataegus species: dark red to grayish; shreddy, scaly or sometimes blocky when young; weakly furrowed, ridged, scaly, and often fluted or knotted when older.

Wood: Likely similar to other Crataegus species: heartwood reddish-brown, sapwood light-colored; hard, heavy; diffuse-porous, close-grained; used to make handles for tools and canes.

General: Native to Europe and northern Africa.  Also called C. oxyacantha by some.  Seems to be adaptable to a variety of sites.  Shade intolerant. Thorns or spines that can be dangerous; use thornless varieties if possible.

Landscape Use: A small tree up to about 20' tall, with a rounded canopy.  Often seen in a pink to nearly red-flowered form; very beautiful.  Older trunks of the trees I have seen in Logan split into longitudinal segments, almost like a twisted bundle of 1" to 2" diameter stems.  Sometimes fall color can be fairly nice.  Zones 4-8.

Cultivars: 'Autumn Glory', 'Crimson Cloud', 'Paul's Scarlet', 'Plena', 'Rosea', 'Rosea Flore Plena', var rubra.

Characteristics