Crataegus laevigata      (syn. C. oxyacantha)              Rosaceae

English Hawthorn, English Midland Hawthorn                    kra-TEE-gus le-vi-GA-ta

• Deciduous shrub or tree, 5-20 ft (4.5-6 m), low branching, rounded top, dense thorny branches, thorns to 2.5 cm long.  Leaves alternate, broad-ovate to obovate, 3-5 rounded lobes of variable size, serrulate, glossy green, no fall color.  Flowers white to pinkish, 15-18 mm wide, with 20 stamens, red anthers, 2-3 styles, in clusters (corymbs) of up to 12 blooms.  Fruit red, ovate-globose, usually 2 seeded.
• Sun, very susceptible to rust, hawthorn leaf spot and blight, which may cause the tree to nearly defoliate in early summer.  Several cultivars, probably the most common are Crimson Cloud^TM and ‘Paul's Scarlet’
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4     Native to Europe, north Africa, and India.
• Has been cultivated for ages in hedges and gardens and is often confused with C. monogyna (also called English Hawthorn or Common Hawthorn) and C. × media (hybrids of C. monogyna × C. laevigata).