Crataegus viridis green hawthorn

Crataegus viridis flowering, Lasuen Mall. Sairus Patel, 26 Apr 2023

Crataegus viridis fruiting, Lasuen Mall. Sairus Patel, 14 Oct 2024

Just to keep you on your toes, three of these small hawthorns are mixed in with the Washington thorns (C. phaenopyrum) that line Lasuen Mall south of Braun Music Center: two at the Music Center and one at the Mayfield Avenue end. They are ‘Winter King’, practically the sole representative of this species in horticulture and in fact the most popular of all hawthorn cultivars.

The bark of green hawthorn exfoliates to reveal orange patches; Washington thorn’s is rough and finely textured. This serves to distinguish the species at any time of year. Also, the leaf base of green hawthorn is more of a wedge or V shape. But if you whizzed by on your bike without the time to observe any of this, you may notice that the green hawthorns flower earlier than the others. Their leaves turn earlier as well. And their orange-ripening-to-red fruits, thickly clustered on the branches, persist for much longer, providing food to cedar waxwings and other birds throughout winter.

Name derivation: Crataegus – Greek kratos (strength) referring to the hard wood; viridis – Latin for green.