Black Hawthorn Crataegus douglasii
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- krah-TEE-gus dug-LAS-ee-eye
- Description
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The genus, Crataegus, or Hawthorn, includes many different species and varieties that are distributed though out North America. Crataegus douglasii, or Douglass Hawthorn, is a large shrub or small tree, about 25 feet high, with long, straight thorns, dense clusters of white flowers, and bearing eadible fruit in the fall. It is native to wetlands, open moist places, meadows, and along streams in the Pacific Northwest.
Easy to grow, the Douglass Hawthorn prefers well-drained loam, but is not fussy. It can do well in moist soils, tolerates drought and heavy clay soils. For best fruit production, site the tree in full sun. The plant will grow in semi-shade, though fruit yields will be lower. When grown from seed, trees take 5 to 8 years before they start bearing fruit. The flowers have a smell somewhat like decaying fish, which attracts midges, the main means of fertilization. When freshly open, the flowers have a more pleasant scent. Over time, the plant will sucker to form a thicket; if necessary, you can control the plant with pruning in late winter.
Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems:
Susceptible to cedar-hawthorn rust, cedar-quince rust, fireblight, fungal leaf spots, powdery mildew, cankers and apple scab are occasional problems. Insect pests include borers, caterpillars, lace bugs, leaf miners and scale.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Crataegus
- Species:
- douglasii
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Wood is strong, tough, hard, and heavy, but with little commercial value.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Grafting
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- North America
- Distribution:
- Alaska to Quebec south to Michigan, South Dakota, Nevada and California.
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant 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. Provides protected nesting.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Edible fruit
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Edibility:
- Fruit is edible raw or cooked. Pleasant flavor with a sweet and juicy succulent flesh. Desert fruit and used for making pies, preserves etc, and can be dried for later use.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 10 ft. 0 in. - 26 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 10 ft. 0 in. - 25 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Dense
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- 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:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Flowers are followed by abundant, globular, red fruits (to 1/2 inch diameter) which ripen to black in late summer. Fruits are edible and usually drop to the ground in late fall, but may persist on the tree in a shriveled raisin-like form. Five fairly large seeds are found in the center of the fruit.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Corymb
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Cup
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Fragrant, five-petaled, white flowers (to 1/2 inch diameter) with cup-shaped bases, blooms in flat-topped clusters (10-12 flowered corymbs) rising from the leaf axils and branch ends in mid to late spring. Flowers have an unpleasant fragrance which attracts pollinators such as midges and butterflies.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Oval or wedge-shaped leaves, 2 to 3 inches long, and notched on the edges.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Gray
- Bark Description:
- Thin bark that breaks up in to narrow scales on older stems.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Branches are armed with thorns to 1 inch long.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Flowering Tree
- Hedge
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Pollution
- Wind
