''Crataegus douglasii'' is a North American 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 ...

known by the common names black hawthorn and Douglas' thornapple. It is most abundant in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

Description

''Crataegus douglasii'' is a compact erect bushy

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 ...

growing to tall with a trunk of up to thick. It is covered in fan-shaped green leaves about long with teeth along the distal margin. Thorns along the branches are 1–2.5 cm long. White flowers with greenish centers grow in bunches at the ends of each thin branch. The fruit is a blackish

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 ...

up to about 1 cm across, containing 3–5 rocklike seeds.

Taxonomy

The species is named after David Douglas, who collected seed from the plant during his botanical explorations. Formerly placed within the species, ''Crataegus douglasii'' var. ''duchesnensis'' is now considered to be a synonym of ''

Crataegus saligna ''Crataegus saligna'' is a species of hawthorn known by the common name willow hawthorn that is seldom cultivated and rather rare in the wild. Its native range is wet areas of western Colorado and northeastern Utah. It is a shrub or small tree wi ...

''.

Distribution

The thorny

is native to northern and western North America, where it grows in varied habitats from forest to scrubland. It is most abundant in the

Ecology

The foliage is browsed by cattle and sheep. Various birds, including

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...

, the

Hungarian partridge The grey partridge (''Perdix perdix''), also known as the gray-legged partridge, English partridge, Hungarian partridge, or hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The scientific name ...

, and

ring-necked pheasant The common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus'') is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin ''phasianus'', "pheasant". The species name ''colchicus'' is Latin for "of Colchis" (modern day Georgia), a country on ...

feed on the berries, as do bears and other animals.

Magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

s nest in the branches. The species is a larval host to the

gray hairstreak The gray hairstreak (''Strymon melinus'') is also called the bean lycaenid or cotton square borer. It is a member of the Lycaenidae family, known as the gossamer-winged butterflies and the second-largest family of butterflies. It is one of the mos ...

mourning cloak ''Nymphalis antiopa'', known as the mourning cloak in North America and the Camberwell beauty in United Kingdom, Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. The immature form of this species is sometimes known as the spiny ...

, pale tiger swallowtail, and

western tiger swallowtail ''Papilio rutulus'', the western tiger swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the ''Papilionidae'' family. The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1852. Like the other tiger swallowtails, the western tiger swallowt ...

.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

Uses

The fruits were a good food source for Native American peoples such as the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

and

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

Gallery

File:Crataegus_douglasii_9816.JPG, Straight, stout thorns are one to two centimeters long. File:Crataegus_douglasii_9820.JPG, The white flowers have greenish centers. File:Crataegus douglasii 9473.JPG, Crataegus douglasii File:Crataegus_douglasii_9467.JPG, The leaf margin is toothed and usually slightly lobed. File:Crataegus douglasii (5192274425).jpg, Crataegus douglasii leaves changing color in fall. Image:Crataegus_douglasii_mature_bark.jpg, The mature bark is grey and rough. File:Crataegus douglasii 2.jpg File:Crataegus douglasii kz4.jpg File:Crataegus douglasii kz1.jpg, Crataegus douglasii File:Crataegus douglasii JEPS109866 (4496863581).jpg, Crataegus douglasii JEPS109866 (4496863581)

References

USDA Forest Service: Fire Effects Information System

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Crataegus douglasii''U.Mich: Ethnobotany''Crataegus douglasii'' - Photo gallery
douglasii Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of California Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of North America Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Crataegus-stub