''Crataegus douglasii'' is a North American species of
hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
known by the common names black hawthorn and Douglas' thornapple. It is most abundant in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...
.
Description
''Crataegus douglasii'' is a compact erect bushy
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...
growing to tall with a trunk of up to thick.
It is covered in fan-shaped green leaves about long
with teeth along the distal margin. Thorns along the branches are 1–2.5 cm long.
White flowers with greenish centers grow in bunches at the ends of each thin branch. The fruit is a blackish
pome
In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince.
Etymology
The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, and re ...
up to about 1 cm across, containing 3–5 rocklike seeds.
Taxonomy
The species is named after
David Douglas, who collected seed from the plant during his botanical explorations.
Formerly placed within the species, ''Crataegus douglasii'' var. ''duchesnensis'' is now considered to be a synonym of ''
Crataegus saligna''.
Distribution
The thorny
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...
is native to northern and western North America, where it grows in varied habitats from forest to scrubland. It is most abundant in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...
.
Ecology
The foliage is browsed by cattle and sheep. Various birds, including
quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy.
Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...
, the
Hungarian partridge, and
ring-necked pheasant
The common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus'') is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin ''phasianus'', "pheasant". The species name ''colchicus'' is Latin for "of Colchis" (modern day Georgia), a country on ...
feed on the berries,
[ as do bears and other animals.]Magpie
Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is on ...
s nest in the branches.mourning cloak
''Nymphalis antiopa'', known as the mourning cloak in North America and the Camberwell beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America.
The immature form of this species is sometimes known as the spiny elm caterpilla ...
, pale tiger swallowtail, and western tiger swallowtail.[The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.]
Uses
The fruits were a good food source for Native American peoples such as the Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...
and Nlaka'pamux.
Gallery
File:Crataegus_douglasii_9816.JPG, Straight, stout thorns are one to two centimeters long.
See also
* List of hawthorn species with black fruit
References
USDA Forest Service: Fire Effects Information System
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Crataegus douglasii''U.Mich: Ethnobotany''Crataegus douglasii'' - Photo gallery
douglasii
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of Western Canada
Flora of California
Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America)
Flora of the North-Central United States
Flora of North America
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Crataegus-stub