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frosted hawthorn, waxyfruit hawthorn

river hawthorn

Habit Shrubs or trees, dense, often suberect, 20–70 dm. Shrubs or trees, multi-stemmed, 30–40(–70) dm.
Stems

compound thorns on trunks present;

twigs: new growth reddish brown, 1-year old dull purple-brown, 2-years old dull gray, older paler;

thorns on twigs straight to slightly recurved, 2-years old deep purple to shiny black, usually ± fine, 3–5 cm.

twigs: new growth golden green to strongly reddish tinged, sparsely pubescent or glabrous, 1-year old usually shiny, dark brown, older gray;

thorns on twigs 1-year old shiny, deep brown to blackish, often black-tipped, stout to slender, 2.5–5 cm.

Leaves

petiole length 50–66% blade, sparsely glandular;

blade trullate to ovate, ovate-oblong, or broadly rhombic, rarely ± deltate, 2–6(–7) cm, subcoriaceous, base broadly cuneate to subtruncate to weakly subcordate, lobes (1–)3 or 4 per side, sinuses shallow to deeper, lobe apex acute, sometimes ± obtuse, margins serrate, veins 5 or 6 per side (except smaller leaves), apex acute, surfaces glabrous (except var. virella).

petiole length 30–60% blade, sparsely to densely glandular;

blade ovate, 3–6 cm, base subcordate, truncate, or rounded to cuneate, lobes 3–6 per side, sinuses shallow to moderately deep, lobe apex acute to acuminate, margins serrate, teeth numerous, small, larger ones conspicuously glandular, particularly at base, smaller ones inconspicuously gland-tipped, veins 4–6 per side, apex acute, adaxial surface densely appressed-scabrous-pubescent young, glabrescent.

Inflorescences

5–10-flowered;

branches glabrous, sometimes sparsely villous;

bracteoles caducous, usually few, margins short-stipitate-glandular.

5–12-flowered;

branches pubescent;

bracteoles usually absent (even young), sometimes few to several, often red-tinged, ± linear.

Flowers

15–25 mm diam.;

sepals narrowly triangular, 5–6 mm, margins usually entire or subentire, rarely glandular-serrate, abaxially glabrous;

stamens (10 or)20, anthers pale pink to bright rose or dull purple, sometimes cream, 0.6–0.8 mm;

styles 3–5.

12–17 mm diam.;

hypanthium glabrous;

sepals 4–5 mm, margins subentire to weakly serrate, usually eglandular, abaxially glabrous or pubescent;

stamens 5–10, anthers pink to reddish purple;

styles 3–5.

Pomes

greenish with pink or mauve areas, sometimes bright crimson or scarlet, often rather angular, 10–20 mm diam., highly pruinose, not punctate;

flesh hard;

sepals on collar, spreading;

pyrenes 3–5.

bright to deep red, suborbicular to ellipsoid, 8–15 mm diam.;

sepals erose or erect-patent;

pyrenes 3–5, dorsally shallowly grooved.

Crataegus pruinosa

Crataegus fluviatilis

Phenology Flowering May–Jun; fruiting Sep–Oct.
Habitat Old fields, fencerows, brush, woodland margins, open woods
Elevation 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; CT; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; ME; MI; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; IL; MA; ME; MI; MN; NH; NY; RI; VT; WI; ON; QC
Discussion

Varieties 6 (6 in the flora).

Crataegus pruinosa extends from Arkansas to Wisconsin, through the southern Great Lakes to southern New England, and, in the south, mainly in the Appalachians to northern Georgia.

In the north of its range, Crataegus pruinosa is mainly a shrub of open successional habitats but in the south may commonly be a taller tree of open or thin woodlands.

Many hawthorns have a little waxy bloom on their pomes; it is particularly prominent on Crataegus pruinosa and C. cognata compared to others. Some authors include in C. pruinosa their white-anthered counterparts, here assigned to C. cognata. Whereas C. pruinosa characteristically has entire or subentire sepal margins, some forms in the southwest of the range of the species (for example, C. calliantha Sargent, C. seducta Sargent) may have glandular-serrate sepal margins. They may represent introgression with C. coccinioides. The varieties of C. pruinosa are weakly differentiated from each other, most of them on leaf shape and size characters. The more widespread varieties constitute a range of morphotypes held together by common traits. Crataegus gaudens Sargent is a strikingly distinct form from Pennsylvania that has more or less elliptic leaves with lobes absent; it is clearly related to C. pruinosa. Note that 159. Crataegus ×coleae, a Michigan endemic, will key out here if its laterally scarred pyrenes are missed.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Crataegus fluviatilis includes a range of intermediates between C. flabellata and C. macrosperma. There are three main forms. In the typical form, sporadic in Quebec and New England, the glandular-serration of the sepal margins is less pronounced and the inflorescence branches at anthesis are less densely hairy than in C. flabellata, but the leaves are more similar to those of C. macrosperma. They could represent rare hybrid derivatives of these two species. In the central Great Lakes region (Illinois to Ontario), more frequent forms occur attributable to C. apiomorpha, similar to sympatric C. macrosperma, differing mainly in their soft-hairy inflorescences. More complex variation occurs in Minnesota, where forms with densely pubescent inflorescences occur in local populations, often intermixed with otherwise identical C. macrosperma (glabrous inflorescences). Both the latter are notable for their serrate sepal margins, not the norm for C. macrosperma. Into the mix are identical forms with 20 stamens, which perhaps are C. asperata Sargent. This Minnesota complex is notable for smallish leaves (4–6 cm), is constant for characters other than those mentioned above, and suggests active introgression.

Confusion between the Minnesota form of Crataegus fluviatilis and sympatric C. chrysocarpa might be possible; a helpful field character at anthesis is the pink anthers of the former; at other times, it is the flexible petioles that allow the leaves of C. fluviatilis to flutter in the wind, unlike those of C. chrysocarpa, which have stiffer petioles.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Stamens 10.
var. dissona
1. Stamens 20
→ 2
2. Leaf surfaces sparsely short-hairy adaxially young, usually glabrescent; inflorescence branches sometimes sparsely villous.
var. virella
2. Leaf surfaces glabrous adaxially young, sometimes sparsely appressed-hairy along veins; inflorescence branches glabrous
→ 3
3. Leaf blades 5–7 cm, ovate to ovate-deltate, lobes 0 or 1–4 per side, obscure, lobe apices ± obtuse, bases broadly cuneate to subtruncate; anthers cream.
var. magnifolia
3. Leaf blades 2–7 cm, ovate or ovate-oblong to ± deltate or broadly rhombic, lobes 2–4 per side, distinct, lobe apices acute, bases broadly cuneate to subtruncate or truncate to weakly subcordate; anthers pale pink
→ 4
4. Leaf blades 3–7 cm, broadly ovate to deltate, length/width = 1–1.2, bases very broadly cuneate or truncate to weakly subcordate.
var. rugosa
4. Leaf blades 2–6 cm, broadly rhombic, ovate, or ovate-oblong to narrowly deltate, length/width = 1.5, bases broadly cuneate to subtruncate
→ 5
5. Leaf blades ovate or ovate-oblong to narrowly deltate, 4–6 cm, bases broadly cuneate to subtruncate.
var. pruinosa
5. Leaf blades broadly rhombic, 2–4 cm, bases broadly cuneate.
var. parvula
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 574. FNA vol. 9, p. 564.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Crataegus > sect. Coccineae > ser. Pruinosae Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Maleae > Crataegus > sect. Coccineae > ser. Tenuifoliae
Sibling taxa
C. aemula, C. aestivalis, C. alabamensis, C. alleghaniensis, C. annosa, C. aprica, C. aquacervensis, C. ashei, C. atrovirens, C. attrita, C. austromontana, C. beata, C. berberifolia, C. biltmoreana, C. brachyacantha, C. brainerdii, C. brazoria, C. brittonii, C. buckleyi, C. calpodendron, C. castlegarensis, C. chrysocarpa, C. coccinea, C. coccinioides, C. cognata, C. collina, C. colonica, C. communis, C. compacta, C. condigna, C. craytonii, C. crocea, C. crus-galli, C. cupressocollina, C. delawarensis, C. dispar, C. dodgei, C. douglasii, C. egens, C. egregia, C. enderbyensis, C. erythropoda, C. exilis, C. eximia, C. extraria, C. fecunda, C. flabellata, C. flava, C. florens, C. floridana, C. florifera, C. fluviatilis, C. formosa, C. frugiferens, C. furtiva, C. gattingeri, C. gaylussacia, C. gilva, C. greggiana, C. harbisonii, C. holmesiana, C. ignava, C. incilis, C. integra, C. intricata, C. invicta, C. iracunda, C. irrasa, C. jesupii, C. jonesiae, C. lacrimata, C. laevigata, C. lanata, C. lancei, C. lanuginosa, C. lassa, C. laurentiana, C. leonensis, C. lepida, C. levis, C. lumaria, C. macracantha, C. macrosperma, C. magniflora, C. margarettae, C. marshallii, C. mendosa, C. meridiana, C. mira, C. mollis, C. monogyna, C. munda, C. nananixonii, C. neobushii, C. nitida, C. oakesiana, C. okanaganensis, C. okennonii, C. opaca, C. opima, C. orbicularis, C. ouachitensis, C. padifolia, C. pennsylvanica, C. persimilis, C. pexa, C. phaenopyrum, C. phippsii, C. pinetorum, C. populnea, C. prona, C. pulcherrima, C. punctata, C. purpurella, C. quaesita, C. reverchonii, C. rivularis, C. rivuloadamensis, C. rivulopugnensis, C. roribacca, C. rubella, C. rubribracteolata, C. saligna, C. sargentii, C. scabrida, C. schizophylla, C. schuettei, C. segnis, C. senta, C. sheila-phippsiae, C. sheridana, C. shuswapensis, C. sororia, C. spathulata, C. spes-aestatum, C. stolonifera, C. stonei, C. submollis, C. suborbiculata, C. succulenta, C. tecta, C. teres, C. texana, C. tracyi, C. triflora, C. turnerorum, C. uniflora, C. ursopedensis, C. venusta, C. viridis, C. visenda, C. wattiana, C. williamsii, C. wootoniana, C. ×atrorubens, C. ×bicknellii, C. ×coleae, C. ×collicola, C. ×disperma, C. ×dispessa, C. ×fretalis, C. ×incaedua, C. ×kelloggii, C. ×latebrosa, C. ×lucorum, C. ×rufula, C. ×sicca, C. ×vailiae
C. aemula, C. aestivalis, C. alabamensis, C. alleghaniensis, C. annosa, C. aprica, C. aquacervensis, C. ashei, C. atrovirens, C. attrita, C. austromontana, C. beata, C. berberifolia, C. biltmoreana, C. brachyacantha, C. brainerdii, C. brazoria, C. brittonii, C. buckleyi, C. calpodendron, C. castlegarensis, C. chrysocarpa, C. coccinea, C. coccinioides, C. cognata, C. collina, C. colonica, C. communis, C. compacta, C. condigna, C. craytonii, C. crocea, C. crus-galli, C. cupressocollina, C. delawarensis, C. dispar, C. dodgei, C. douglasii, C. egens, C. egregia, C. enderbyensis, C. erythropoda, C. exilis, C. eximia, C. extraria, C. fecunda, C. flabellata, C. flava, C. florens, C. floridana, C. florifera, C. formosa, C. frugiferens, C. furtiva, C. gattingeri, C. gaylussacia, C. gilva, C. greggiana, C. harbisonii, C. holmesiana, C. ignava, C. incilis, C. integra, C. intricata, C. invicta, C. iracunda, C. irrasa, C. jesupii, C. jonesiae, C. lacrimata, C. laevigata, C. lanata, C. lancei, C. lanuginosa, C. lassa, C. laurentiana, C. leonensis, C. lepida, C. levis, C. lumaria, C. macracantha, C. macrosperma, C. magniflora, C. margarettae, C. marshallii, C. mendosa, C. meridiana, C. mira, C. mollis, C. monogyna, C. munda, C. nananixonii, C. neobushii, C. nitida, C. oakesiana, C. okanaganensis, C. okennonii, C. opaca, C. opima, C. orbicularis, C. ouachitensis, C. padifolia, C. pennsylvanica, C. persimilis, C. pexa, C. phaenopyrum, C. phippsii, C. pinetorum, C. populnea, C. prona, C. pruinosa, C. pulcherrima, C. punctata, C. purpurella, C. quaesita, C. reverchonii, C. rivularis, C. rivuloadamensis, C. rivulopugnensis, C. roribacca, C. rubella, C. rubribracteolata, C. saligna, C. sargentii, C. scabrida, C. schizophylla, C. schuettei, C. segnis, C. senta, C. sheila-phippsiae, C. sheridana, C. shuswapensis, C. sororia, C. spathulata, C. spes-aestatum, C. stolonifera, C. stonei, C. submollis, C. suborbiculata, C. succulenta, C. tecta, C. teres, C. texana, C. tracyi, C. triflora, C. turnerorum, C. uniflora, C. ursopedensis, C. venusta, C. viridis, C. visenda, C. wattiana, C. williamsii, C. wootoniana, C. ×atrorubens, C. ×bicknellii, C. ×coleae, C. ×collicola, C. ×disperma, C. ×dispessa, C. ×fretalis, C. ×incaedua, C. ×kelloggii, C. ×latebrosa, C. ×lucorum, C. ×rufula, C. ×sicca, C. ×vailiae
Subordinate taxa
C. pruinosa var. dissona, C. pruinosa var. magnifolia, C. pruinosa var. parvula, C. pruinosa var. pruinosa, C. pruinosa var. rugosa, C. pruinosa var. virella
Synonyms Mespilus pruinosa C. apiomorpha
Name authority (H. L. Wendland) K. Koch: Hort. Dendrol., 168. (1853) Sargent: Rhodora 5: 117. (1903)
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