Crataegus aestivalis

Mayhaw is a native hawthorn, a deciduous shrub in the rose family and found in shallow ponds, wet woods and seasonal swamps along the coastal plains of the southeastern USA and the mountain ridges to the west. It is one of the many species of Hawthorn found throughout North Carolina. Mayhaw, like other Hawthorns, can be grown as a large shrub or trained into a small tree.  It is slow-growing to 30 to 40 feet tall with a rounded crown. It has long, straight thorns, showy clusters of white flowers that occur in early spring and are followed by edible red fruits that ripen earlier than other hawthorns from June to July. 

Although it naturally grows in wet sites it is adaptable to the drier sites in the home landscape and is sometime grown as an ornamental. It prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade and is adaptable to soil types. Use as a specimen, hedge, screening or a small shade tree.  Because it tolerates a wide variety of sites, this species can be used to stabilize banks and to give protection from erosion.

This plants serves as a host plant for the larvae of the Gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus), Red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax), and the Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) butterflies.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems. Can be susceptible to rust. Mayhaw is the most disease resistant of the hawthorns. Twigs are thorny.