Crataegus phaenopyrum
Common name: 
Washington Hawthorn
Pronunciation: 
kra-TEE-gus fee-no-PI-rum
Family: 
Rosaceae
Genus: 
Crataegus
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous tree, 15-30 ft (4.5-9 m), rounded, dense, delicate slender branches, thorny (thorns thin, 2.5-7.5 cm long).   Leaves simple, 2.5-7.5 cm long, 3-5 lobed, sharply serrate, reddish purple when unfolding changing to a lustrous dark green, fall color orange to scarlet.  White flowers with pink anthers, blooms profusely, in terminal or axillary clusters.  The last hawthorn to flower.  Bright red glossy fruit, 6-8 mm across, 3-5 nutlets (seeds) per fruit; persisting all winter.
  • Sun, moderate root system easy to garden under.  Protect from wind
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 3     Has a wide native range across the middle latitudes of the United States from Missouri to Maryland and southward (to Louisiana and Florida) but is not particularly abundant (Flora of North America).  Considered the dainties of Hawthorns, and there are hundreds.
  • phaenopyrum: Greek, from phaeno, visible; apparently meaning having an appearance of pear (pyrus), possibly referring to their similar flowers
  • Washington Hawthorn:  The tree was grown on a large scale by a Georgetown nurseryman and became popular around Washington D.C. in the late 1700's and apparently took on the name of the city.
  • Corvallis: east and west ends of the parking lot west of the Methodist Church on Monroe Ave., between 12th and 13th Streets.
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  • plant habit, early summer flowering

    plant habit, early summer flowering

  • plant habit, early summer flowering

    plant habit, early summer flowering

  • flowering branches

    flowering branches

  • flowers, leaves and thorns

    flowers, leaves and thorns

  • thorn

    thorn

  • plant habit, late summer

    plant habit, late summer

  • leaves and green fruit

    leaves and green fruit

  • leaves and ripe fruit

    leaves and ripe fruit

  • leaves and fruit

    leaves and fruit

  • leaves and fruit, comparison

    leaves and fruit, comparison

  • fruit and leaves, fall

    fruit and leaves, fall

  • leaf and fruit, fall

    leaf and fruit, fall

  • fruit and leaves, fall

    fruit and leaves, fall

  • plant habit, after leaf drop, winter

    plant habit, after leaf drop, winter

  • fruit clusters, early winter

    fruit clusters, early winter

  • fruit, winter

    fruit, winter

  • fruit, seeds and buds, winter

    fruit, seeds and buds, winter