''Crataegus laevigata'', known as the Midland hawthorn, English hawthorn, woodland hawthorn, or mayflower, is a species of

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

native to western and central Europe, from

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(where it is typically found in

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

and old hedgerows) and

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east to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. It is also present in North Africa. The species name is sometimes spelt ''C. levigata'', but the original orthography is ''C. lævigata''.

Description

It is a large

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing to or rarely to tall, with a dense crown. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are long and broad, with two or three shallow, forward-pointing lobes on each side of the leaf. The

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are produced in

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

s of 6 to 12, each flower with five white or pale pink petals and two or sometimes three styles. The flowers are pollinated by

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a dark red

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince. Etymology The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, and re ...

diameter, slightly broader than long, containing two or three nutlets. It is distinguished from the closely related common hawthorn, '' C. monogyna'', in the leaves being only shallowly lobed, with forward-pointing lobes, and in the flowers having more than one style. Each style produces a seed, so its fruits also have more than one seed and these make them slightly oval, in contrast with the single-seeded and therefore round fruits of common hawthorn. The two species hybridise, giving rise to ''C.'' × ''media''.

Taxonomy

In the past, Midland hawthorn was widely but incorrectly known by the name '' C. oxyacantha'', a name that has now been rejected as being of uncertain application. In 1753,

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

introduced the name ''C. oxyacantha'' for the single species of which he was aware, but described it in such a way that the name became used for various species, including both the Midland and the common hawthorn. In 1775, Jacquin formally separated the common hawthorn, naming it ''C. monogyna'', and in 1946,

Dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...

showed that Linnaeus had actually observed a different plant, ''C. oxyacantha''. By this time, though, confusion over the true identity of ''C. oxyacantha'' was so great that Byatt proposed that the name should be formally rejected as ambiguous, and this proposal was accepted by the

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, although the name continues to be used informally. The Midland hawthorn was described botanically as a separate species as long ago as 1798 by

Poiret Poiret is a French language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean Poiret, French author * Jean Louis Georges Poiret, former Lieutenant-Governor of Guinea *Jean Louis Marie Poiret, French clergyman, botanist, and explorer * Jeanne ...

, whose name ''Mespilus laevigata'' referred to this hawthorn. Poiret's name is reflected in the revised formal botanical name of Midland hawthorn: ''Crataegus laevigata'' (Poir.) DC.

Cultivars

'François Rigaud' has yellow fruit.Phipps, J.B.; O’Kennon, R.J.; Lance, R.W. 2003. ''Hawthorns and medlars''. Royal Horticultural Society, Cambridge, U.K. 'Paul's Scarlet' (double red flowers), 'Punicea' (pink and white) and 'Rosea Flore Pleno' (double pink flowers) have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. These cultivars are considered by taxonomists to be derived from hybrids between ''C. laevigata'' and ''C. monogyna'', within the named hybrid species ''C.'' × ''media''.

Parasites

The hawthorn button-top gall on Midland hawthorn is caused by the dipteran gall-midge '' Dasineura crataegi''.

Description

Taxonomy

Cultivars

Parasites

References

Further reading