

•o-*^<«^ 



HAWTHORN (Haw, White Haw, Red Haw, 

 Thorn Bush) 



(Crataegus species) 

 TTHE hawthorn, as here treated, represents a con- 

 siderable number of different species and va- 

 rieties distributed throughout the State. Members 

 of the group occur on the poorest and richest soils, 

 on the shallowest and deepest, and on the lime- 

 stone hills as well as on the rich bottom and swamp 

 land. Most of the forms have a common likeness 



HAWTHORN 

 Two-thirdB natural size. 



in possessing thorns and bearing white blossoms 

 and red or yellow fruit. Some species are planted 

 as ornamental trees, but otherwise the group is of 

 little commercial value. 



The bark is generally thin, gray in color, and on 

 the old stems broken up into thin, narrow scales. 



The leaves are simple, alternate, mostly oval or 

 wedge-shaped, notched on the edges, and usually 

 from 2 to 3 inches long. 



The flowers are white, some fragrant and others 

 with a slightly unpleasant odor; they appear in early 

 spring. Tlic fruit varies from globular to oblong, 

 from one-fourtli to tliree-fourths inch in diameter; 

 some when ripe have a pulpy, sweet, edible flesh, sur- 

 rounding from 1 to 5 bony seeds. The fruit of most 

 species ripens in the fall, and one or two varieties 

 yield a fruit highly prized for making jelly. 



The wood is .strong, tough, heavy, hard, but rarely 

 used for any purpose. 



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