Woody > Crataegus > Crataegus chrysocarpa > Crataegus chrysocarpa
Crataegus chrysocarpa
Origin: Crataegus chrysocarpa has a large native range in North America, Stretching from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains, north to the Peace River in Alberta and south to New Mexico.
Mike's
Opinion
"
Crataegus chrysocarpa is a rather weed like plant that is very cold hardy but has little landscaping value. Attractive white bloom and red fruit, but it is not unique for the genus. The only thing that stands out about Crataegus chrysocarpa is that it grows the farthest north of any North American Crataegus. Fireberry Hawthorn is seldom used as an ornamental, but has value for landscaping in northern areas where few other species are hardy.
Michael Pascoe, NDP., ODH., CLT., MSc. (Plant Conservation)
"
| Family |
| Rosaceae |
| Genus |
| Crataegus |
| Species |
| chrysocarpa |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (deciduous) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 4 - 8 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 2a - 8a |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H4 - H7 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| (-35) |
| Temperature (°F) |
| (-30) |
| Height |
| 4 - 8 m |
| Spread |
| 4 - 8 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| A mid-sized deciduous tree, long thorns on the branches, and shallowly lobed, toothed green leaves. In late spring, clusters of small white flowers emerge, followed by red berries. |
| Landscape |
| Crataegus chrysocarpa is used for erosion control, because it tolerates a wide variety of sites, and it can be used to stabilize banks for shelterbelts and from wind and water erosion. The wood is very hard but has little value except for tool handles and other small items. Crataegus chrysocarpa is excellent as a wildlife habitat, as it provides cover and nesting sites for small birds, the fruit is eaten by birds, rodents and small mammals and white-tailed deer browse the young twigs and leaves. Thanks to its hardiness, it is used as a landscape plant in northern regions where little else grows. Like other hawthorns, it has the potential to be used as a hedgerow plant, like it is in the British Isles. |
| Cultivation |
| Although it will succeed in partial shade and different soil types, it grows best in full sunlight, well-drained loamy soils, and will tolerate wet soils, becoming drought tolerant once established. It is also tolerant of wind and atmospheric pollution. |
| Shape |
| Typically, round and bush like in shape, can grow to form umbrella shape with age as can be seen in Cardiff specimen. |
| Growth |
| Slow |
| ID Characteristic |
| Crataegus chrysocarpa has bright red fruit which is 8-10 mm in diameter, grows in groups and has a present calyx. The leaves are egg shaped and heavily serrated on the top side. Finally, the leaves are not rounded at the base. |
| Pests |
| Although pests and diseases seldom affect it, it is susceptible to fire-blight, cedar-hawthorn rust, cedar-quince rust, leaf blight, fruit rot, and leaf spot. Pests may include: Hawthorn leaf miners, Japanese beetles, Yellow necked caterpillars, Fall webworms, Forest tent caterpillars, Eastern tent caterpillars, Leaf crumplers, Pear slugs, Fall cankerworms, Aphids, Calico scale, Oyster shell scales, Lace bugs, Leafhoppers, San Jose scales, Two spotted spider mites and European red mites. |
| Habitat |
| Crataegus chrysocarpa can often be found on abandoned farmland, along streams and in forest openings, especially on soils rich in calcium. Crataegus chrysocarpa is abundant in the grasslands of the Canadian prairie provinces, where it often occurs in sunny areas in the bottom of draws, seepage zone edges on slopes or along shallow ditches. It may also be occasionally found growing under aspen and in the valleys of inter mountain areas. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Young twigs are hairy, yellowish to grey-brown, turning grey in the 3rd year. Thorns are shiny dark reddish-brown to blackish when young. Mature bark is thin, grey to grey-brown and splits into narrow plates. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| Terminal buds are broad, rounded, smooth and become shoots that bear leaves or flowers. Lateral buds are smaller and become thorns. Buds have three or more scales which overlap like shingles. Buds are shinny reddish brown in colour. |
| Leaf Description |
| Leaves are deciduous, simple, alternate and 4 centimetres in length. Petioles are 1-2.5 cm long; leaves are rhombic to broad elliptic in general shape. Leaves are lobed sharp to blunt with numerous small teeth around the margin. 5-7 lateral veins per side. Leaf colour is green in summer, yellow in autumn and purplish in very dry spots. |
| Flower Description |
| Flowers are small, about 15-20mm in diameter. Hypanthium has long soft hairs; Calyx are 4mm in length, triangular and positioned away from the centre. Petals are circular, white and five in count; stamens number 10-20, and are white with cream-coloured anthers. Flowering period is May – June, and this species is hermaphroditic and is pollinated by midges. |
| Fruit Description |
| Fruit 8-10 mm in diameter, generally suborbicular (nearly circular), hairy, bright red or reddish at maturity containing 3-4 nutlets, which are grooved dorsally, their faces plane. |
| Colour Description |
| Leaves are yellowish green to dark green in summer and yellow in autumn. Fruit is green in spring and deep red in summer. Flowers have “white and occasionally pink petals, green sepals and yellow stamen. Twigs are reddish brown; older twigs have greyish bark, and the trunk and main branches have greyish brown bark. |
| Texture Description |
| Crataegus chrysocarpa has medium texture with foliage and flowers in spring, medium texture with foliage and fruit in summer, and coarse texture when bare in winter and fall. |
| Notable Specimens |
| A specimen of Crataegus chrysocarpa can be found in Roath Mill Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. |
| Propagation |
| Fireberry hawthorn can be propagated by either seeds or grafting. Seeds should be warm stratified for 3 months at 15 degrees Celsius and then cold stratified for another three months at four degrees Celsius. It may still take another 18 months to germinate. If the seeds are acid stratified or left to ferment in their own pulp the germination may be quicker. Crataegus chrysocarpa can be grafted onto Crataegus oxyacantha or Crataegus monogyna, grafting is best carried out in the winter to early spring. When planting the seeds, they should be sown in drill rows spaced 20 to 30 centimetres apart and covered in about ½ centimetre of soil. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| In its native habitat of North America, Crataegus chrysocarpa was utilized by the Native Americans. The Ojibwe People added the dried fruits to boiling water to make a mild laxative. Interestingly, when the Ojibwe People wanted to eat the fruit certain conditions had to be met before the berries were eaten. Otherwise, they would cause stomach cramps. The procedure was to offer the tree a gift, for boys a little bow and arrow made from the thorns, for girls a pair of miniature moccasins fashioned from the leaves. In return, the tree would not allow its berries to “bite” the stomach. The gifts were placed on the tree and the berries collected. The Missouri River region Natives also consumed the fruit but only as a famine food. Across the pond Hawthorns are popular in culture and medicine. In religion the Hawthorn is prominent in European pagan traditions, and in Christianity the hawthorn was appropriated as forming Christ’s crown of thorns. |
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