Black hawthorn is a medium to tall shrub species frequently found in southern British Columbia. It has white flowers with 5 petals that appear in the spring; alternate simple leaves, and straight, stout thorns.
View a key to the hawthorns of the Pacific Coast (from Alaska to California), and species notes, by Jim Phipps. |
General:
Medium to tall shrub 1-7 m tall, with stout, straight thorns 1-2 (3) cm long; bark grey or brownish, rough and scaly.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, egg-shaped to oval, 3-6 cm long, irregularly toothed, the top end often with 5 to 9 shallow lobes, somewhat thick and leathery, dark green above, paler below, nearly smooth to hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescences short, terminal or axillary clusters; flowers several to many, stalked, 1-1.5 cm across; corollas white, the petals 5, nearly circular, 4-7 mm long; calyces 5-lobed, the lobes triangular, somewhat long-hairy toward the tip; ovaries inferior, smooth to short-curly-hairy, the styles usually 5; stamens 10 to 20.
Fruits:
Berry-like pomes (like miniature apples), globe- to egg-shaped, about 1 cm long, blackish-purple, smooth; stones (nutlets) 2 to 5, 1-seeded.
Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:
1. Flowers mostly with 10 stamens; ovaries often hairy; leaves often weakly lobed above the middle as well as saw-toothed; plants from largely east of the Coast-Cascade Mtns., the common variety................. var. douglasii
1. Flowers mostly with 20 stamens; ovaries usually smooth; leaves merely 1- to 2-times saw-toothed; plants from west of the Cascade Mtns........................ var. suksdorfii Sarg.
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present from Spring to Fall
Source: The USDA
Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
Elevation
(metres) |
601 | 1 | 1188 |
Slope
Gradient (%) |
9 | 0 | 80 |
Aspect (degrees) |
248 | 0 | 360 |
Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 1 | 7 |
Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
#
of field plots species was recorded in: |
121 | ||
Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(14), CDF(5), CWH(10), ICH(36), IDF(36), PP(9), SBS(8) | ||
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Crataegus columbiana Howell
Crataegus douglasii var. douglasii Lindl. [superfluous autonym]