Red Hawthorn Identification

General Form

• Red hawthorns exhibit a growth form shared by many in the genus with mature individuals possessing a gnarled, muscular trunk and wide-set crown. Hawthorns occupy the gray area between shrubs and trees. Red haws may grow 20 to 40 feet tall in the realm of a small tree but often are smaller. The canopy may span 20 or 30 feet. The trunk is pale gray, rough barked and furrowed, often a foot or more in diameter, while the branches have a smoother texture. The tree usually possesses a single trunk, but occasionally there are multiple stems, which is more suggestive of shrubs.

Leaves and Twigs

• The twigs are softly hairy, but lose this trait with age. They are studded with formidable thorns, often 2 inches long. Leaves are between 3 and 4 inches long and roughly that in width, rimmed with broad, tooth-edged, pointed lobes. Leaf arrangement is alternate with one leaf at each node along the twig. In the autumn, the foliage shifts from green to rust-colored or yellowish.

Flowers and Fruit

• Along with thorns, hawthorns are known for their blooms and fruit. The flowers are white, set in clusters at the tips of their twigs in an arrangement called corymbs. Each flower sports five petals and sepals. Once fertilized, the flower develops into the fruit, commonly called a haw and technically a pome, which matures from lime-green and hairy to a rich red. They resemble miniature apples.

Distribution and Ecology

• Red hawthorn grows in the Central, Eastern and Southern parts of North America. Shade intolerant, it is a pioneering species flourishing best in semiopen country. It grows in open savanna and airy woodlands, riparian thickets, forest edges and prairie margins, as well as openings in bottomland woods caused by windfall, occasionally inundation or other disturbances.