Crataegus berberifolia
Crataegus submollis
barberry hawthorn, barberry-leaf hawthorn
aubépine subsoyeuse, northern downy hawthorn, northern red haw, Quebec hawthorn
twigs: new growth orange-brown or green tinged with red, ± pubescent, 1-year old brown, older gray;
thorns on twigs ± straight or recurved, 2-years old shiny black to chestnut brown, fine or stouter, (2–)3–4(–6.5) cm.
twigs: new growth appressed-pubescent, 1-year old tan to brown, older gray;
thorns on twigs usually numerous, straight to curved, 2-years old shiny blackish, ± thick, 4–7 cm.
petiole 4–6 mm, length 13–18% blade, glabrescent, eglandular;
blade narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, (2.5–)3(–4) cm, coriaceous, base narrowly cuneate, lobes 0, margins finely crenate or serrate except at base, or only beyond widest part, venation craspedodromous, veins 4–6 per side, apex subacute to obtuse, lustrous, abaxial surface ± densely pilose on veins, sometimes pubescent on surface, adaxial hairy young, glabrescent or becoming scabrous.
petiole length 30–50% blade, densely pubescent, ± glandular, glands black;
blade ± broadly ovate to rhombic-elliptic, 4–9(–11) cm, chartaceous, base cuneate to almost truncate, lobes 3–5 per side, obscure on smaller leaves, sinuses shallow to moderately deep, lobe apex acuminate, margins sharply, doubly serrate, on larger leaves teeth 2–3 mm, gland-tipped at least initially, veins 5–7 per side, apex acute to subobtuse, abaxial surface sparsely appressed-pubescent, sometimes glabrescent, veins abaxially pubescent, adaxial densely scabrous-pubescent young, variably glabrescent.
8–12-flowered;
branches densely pubescent;
bracteoles linear, margins glandular.
5–15-flowered;
branches densely pubescent;
bracteoles caducous, linear, membranous, margins sessile-glandular, larger similar but late-deciduous, more herbaceous.
10–20 mm diam.;
hypanthium villous or glabrous;
sepals 3–5 mm, margins entire, abaxially glabrous;
stamens 10 or 20, anthers cream or pink;
styles 2 or 3.
20–22 mm diam.;
hypanthium tomentose;
sepals narrowly triangular, 6–7 mm, margins deeply glandular-serrate, abaxially pubescent;
stamens 10(or 20), anthers ivory;
styles (3–)5.
reddish to yellow, suborbicular, 8–10 mm diam., glabrous;
sepals erose or patent;
pyrenes 2 or 3.
bright red, suborbicular to pyriform or ellipsoid, 10–15 mm diam., hairy, especially proximally and distally;
sepals prominent, erect-patent, stiff;
pyrenes 3–5.
= 68.
Crataegus berberifolia
Crataegus submollis
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
Crataegus berberifolia is widespread from Texas to Missouri, Florida, and Virginia; it is particularly abundant in Louisiana.
Crataegus berberifolia is little differentiated from some forms of C. crus-galli, except in indumentum; it has relatively small and less variably shaped leaves. Its distribution is quite different. Intermediates with hairy leaves and glabrous inflorescences or nearly glabrous leaves and hairy inflorescences may represent hybrids with C. crus-galli (where they might be reached in the key). Such a situation is found in C. araioclada. Abrasion of the adaxial leaf pubescence may occur, rendering identification more difficult with fruiting material. Crataegus berberifolia has a plethora of yellow and orange-fruited forms, particularly from southern Louisiana. Crataegus fera and C. tersa are red-fruited, C. crocina yellow. The fruit color in the type is unknown; E. J. Palmer (in specimen annotation) called it yellow-orange. A form with exceptionally white-tomentose leaves near Copenhagen, Louisiana, is probably this species. Crataegus regalis var. paradoxa (Sargent) E. J. Palmer, from Missouri and adjacent Kansas and Arkansas, is probably a hybrid between the deeply serrated 'regalis' leaf form of C. crus-galli and a form of C. berberifolia. Two common forms of C. berberifolia occur, treated here as varieties: var. engelmannii with ten pink anthers and var. berberifolia with 20 cream anthers. Forms with 20 pink or ten cream anthers also occur sporadically.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Crataegus submollis ranges from eastern Wisconsin and northern Michigan through the limestone areas of southern Ontario into Quebec, and New York to Maine and southern Nova Scotia. It is occasionally found in Pennsylvania and is plausible for northern West Virginia. It is allopatric with C. mollis. Crataegus submollis has also been recorded wild in Europe, including France and northern Italy.
Crataegus submollis, though quite similar to C. mollis, differs in its distribution, stature, petiole glandularity, stamen number, and greater thorniness.
The typical form of Crataegus submollis has proportionately broader leaves that are broadly cuneate to subcordate basally. By contrast, C. champlainensis is a form with proportionately narrower leaves more or less truncate to subcordate at the base. Intermediate forms are common in Quebec and New England. Placing the 20-stamen C. canadensis, a distinctive local form from the Montreal area, with C. submollis is based on leaf shape, glandular petioles, and disjunction from the range of C. mollis. Crataegus arnoldiana is a form with particularly large fruit.
Possession of glandular petioles and similar flowering time means that Crataegus submollis can sometimes show surprising similarity to large specimens of C. chrysocarpa. Then, the large fruiting calyces and the tendency to a more herbaceous larger bracteole type of C. submollis, typical for ser. Molles, differentiate.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stamens 20, anthers usually cream; flowers 16–20 mm diam. | var. berberifolia |
1. Stamens 10, anthers usually pink; flowers 10–15 mm diam. | var. engelmannii |
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