Thornapple Crataegus collina
Other Common Name(s):
Other plants called Thornapple:
Previously known as:
- Crataegus collicola
- Crataegus punctata
- Phonetic Spelling
- krah-TEE-gus KOL-in-uh
- Description
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The Hawthorn genus contains many different species and varieties native to North Carolina and grown from the low swamps and river bottoms in the East to the mountain ridges is the West. Crataegus collina, or Hillside Hawthorn, is a flat-topped, horizontal branching, deciduous native shrub or small tree in the rose family found in the North Carolina mountain area in open, hardwood and conifer-hardwood forests at lower elevations. Hillside Hawthorn are sometimes used as ornamentals and provide many benefits for birds, bees and mammals including food, nesting sites and cover.
This tree will grow in sun to partial shade and prefers moist well-drained soils. The flowers appear in spring and are followed by a yellow to orange pome that is edible and a favorite of bees, wasps, birds and small mammals. It does not tolerate drought well and is often leafless by mid-August during hot summers. The branches are armed with 2-inch thorns although not as many as some hawthorns.
Larvae of the Viceroy (Limenitis archippus), Red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax), and Gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) caterpillars are hosted by this plant.
Insects, disease and other problems:
Quite susceptible to rust. Numerous thorns. Fruit drop could be messy.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Crataegus
- Species:
- collina
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The leaves, berries, and flowers are used in medicines and herbals for cardiovascular health. The wood is strong, tough, heavy, and hard, but has little commercial value.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern Canada south to Georgia, west to the Mississippi.
- Distribution:
- AL, AR, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV
- Wildlife Value:
- Important nectar flower for insects; food plant of many moths including the eggar moth; haws provide winter fruit for songbirds. This plant also provides nectar for pollinators. It is a larval host plant for Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax), and Viceroy (Limenitis archippus). Red-spotted Purple and Viceroy rarely use this host plant in North Carolina. Good nesting habitat with thorns providing protection from predators.
- Play Value:
- Edible fruit
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wildlife Nesting
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Perennial
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Horizontal
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Coarse
- Appendage:
- Thorns
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- NC Region:
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Orange
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Pome
- Fruit Description:
- Small orange to red pome with 3 to 5 pyrenes that resemble the “stones” in related plums, peaches, etc. Sometimes called the ‘haw’.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Corymb
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Description:
- The numerous flowers are in corymbs, pubescent to nearly glabrous and 0.5 to 0.8 inches wide, with 5 petals. The flowers are white, with 2-5 styles and 20 pink or yellow stamens. Blooms in April-May.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Obovate
- Rhomboidal
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Spirally arranged on long stalks. Pubescent, rhombic-obovate in shape. Apex is blunt or rounded and base is tapering. Lobes 0-2 per side above the middle, margins serrate in distal ¾ of lobes. Undersides paler. Two to four inches long and 0.8 to 2 inches wide.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Light Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Fissured
- Smooth
- Bark Description:
- Smooth and gray bark, fissuring with age.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gray/Silver
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- Bark is thin and gray. Twigs are brown to gray, hairy when young, with many short and stout thorns or spines up to 2.5 inches. The bark of older stems tends to break up into narrow scales.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Hedge
- Screen/Privacy
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Problems:
- Spines/Thorns
