Crataegus phaenopyrum
Common name:
Washington Hawthorn
Pronunciation:
kra-TEE-gus fee-no-PI-rum
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
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 Native from Virginia to Alabama and Missouri. Considered the dainties of Hawthorns, and there are hundreds, native to North America.
- 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.
Click image to enlarge