''Crataegus orientalis'', known as oriental hawthorn,
is a species of
hawthorn native to the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
region,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Caucasia,
Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
, and western
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, with fruits that are orange or various shades of red.
[ divides it into four subspecies:
* ''C. orientalis'' subsp. ''orientalis''
* ''C. orientalis'' subsp. ''pojarkovae'' ( Kossych) Byatt has orange fruit.][
* ''C. orientalis'' subsp. ''presliana'' K.I.Chr.
* ''C. orientalis'' subsp. ''szovitsii'' ( Pojarkova) K.I.Chr.]
Uses
Culinary uses
In Caucasia the fruits are either eaten raw or used to make a type of sweet bread.[
]
See also
* List of hawthorn species with yellow fruit
* Medicinal use of various ''Crataegus'' species
References
orientalis
{{Crataegus-stub