Complimentary 
NEW SERIES VOL III 
NO. 16 
ARNOLD ARBORETUM 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
BULLETIN 
OF 
POPULAR INFORMATION 
JAMAICA PLAIN. MASS. OCTOBER 30. 1917 
Some American Hawthorns. Among American Hawthorns are many 
species which are of exceptional value for the beauty of their abund- 
ant flowers, their bright-colored fruits and the brilliancy of their autumn 
foliage. A number of these plants can now be .seen to advantage on 
the bank between the Shrub Collection and the Boston Parkway, and 
are best reached by the path leading to the right from just inside the 
Forest Hills gate. These plants were raised at the Arboretum from 
seed mostly planted between 1880 and 1885, and are therefore less than 
forty years old. None of these trees, however, have reachcjd anything 
like their maximum size but are large enough to show their habit of 
growth and their character as garden ornaments. Hawthorns are usu- 
ally long-lived plants, and individuals a hundred years old are not uncom- 
mon; and, although it takes several years to produce a good Hawthorn 
collection, once established the plants will go on improving and last 
for a long time. Hawthorns are easily raised from seeds which require 
two years in which to germinate. Large specimens are easily trans- 
planted, and all the species thrive in any well-drained soil. Growing 
naturally, the species are most abundant in those parts of the country 
where the soil is impregnated with lime, and they are therefore par- 
ticularly suited to give beauty to the parks and gardens of a large 
part of the United States where the presence of lime and the charac- 
ter of the climate prevent the cultivation of several classes of piants 
on which the gardeners of the coast region of the continent depend. 
Some of the species growing on the bank near the ShruP Collection 
which are now worth the attention of visitors are: — 
61 
