Plant Guide

Crataegus erythropoda Ashe
cerro hawthorn
CRER

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Tree, Shrub
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	FAC?

Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate	None
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	Yes
Fall Conspicuous	Yes
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	White
Flower Conspicuous	Yes
Foliage Color	Dark Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Moderate
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Medium
Fruit/Seed Color	Black
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	Yes
Growth Form	Single Stem
Growth Rate	Slow
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	24
Height, Mature (feet)	16
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Short
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Semi-Erect
Toxicity	None

Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	Low
CaCO3 Tolerance	Medium
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	Low
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	Medium
Frost Free Days, Minimum	89
Hedge Tolerance	Low
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	3
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	600
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	2400
Precipitation, Minimum	16
Precipitation, Maximum	33
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	24
Salinity Tolerance	Medium
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-50

Reproduction
Bloom Period	Late Spring
Commercial Availability	No Known Source
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Medium
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Winter
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	No
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	No
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	25000
Seed Spread Rate	Moderate
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	Slow

Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	Yes
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	High
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	Medium
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	Yes
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Low
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae

Order Rosales

Family Rosaceae -- Rose family

Genus Crataegus L. -- hawthorn P

Species Crataegus erythropoda Ashe -- cerro hawthorn P

Uses

Erosion Control: Because cerro hawthorn tolerates a wide variety of sites, it can be planted to stabilize banks, for shelterbelts, and from wind and water erosion.

Timber: Although the wood is hard and strong, it has no commercial value except for tool handles and other small items.

Wildlife: It provides excellent cover and nesting sites for many smaller birds. Birds, rodents, and other smaller mammals eat the small fruits.

Beautification: Excellent for environmental plantings including small specimen tree and shrub border.

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

Description

General: Rose Family (Rosaceae). It is a native shrub or small tree that grows to sixteen feet high, with dense spreading, glabrous branchlets and sharply thorny. Leaves are broadest near the base or middle, dark green, smooth at maturity, and sometimes shallowly lobed. Flowers are white and produced in clusters of five to ten flowers. Fruits are elongated, red to blackish in color.

Distribution: Cerro hawthorn grows from Washington to Wyoming, and south to Arizona and New Mexico.

Adaptation

Although it will succeed in partial shade and different soil types, it grows best in full sunlight and well-drained loamy soils. Cerro hawthorn will tolerate wet soils before becoming drought tolerant once established. It is wind tolerant, making it a good tree species in shelterbelt planting. It is also tolerant of atmospheric pollution and performs well in urban settings.

Establishment

Propagation from Seed or Grafting: Cerro hawthorn can be propagated by either seeds or grafting. Successful propagation using seeds requires acid scarification followed by warm stratification and prechilling. Seeds, whose numbers per lb. varies with species, are planted early in the fall, in drill rows eight to twelve inches apart and covered with 1/4 inch of soil. Seedlings must not be kept in the nursery longer than a year.

Containerized trees should be planted when they are no more than eight feet tall, in the fall or spring. Balled and burlapped trees should be planted in early spring.

Grafting on seedling stock of Crataegus oxyacantha or Crataegus monogyna is best carried out in the winter to early spring.

Management

Pruning should be done in the winter or early spring in order to maintain a clear shoot leader on young trees and/or remove the weakest branches to allow more light to pass through. Suckers or stems arising from the roots should be removed when they become noticeable.

Pest and Potential Problems

Although insects and diseases seldom affect cerro hawthorn, it is susceptible to fireblight, cedar-hawthorn rust, cedar-quince rust, leaf blight, fruit rot, and leaf spot.

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Consult you local nurseries to choose the right cultivar for your specific landscape. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

References

Colorado Tree Coalition 2001. Cerro hawthorn. Fort Collins, Colorado. Accessed: 11jan02. <https://www.coloradotrees.org/>

Dirr, M.A. 1990. Manual of woody landscape plants: their identification, ornamental characteristics, culture, propagation and uses. 3^rd ed. Stipes, Champaign, Illinois.

Duncan, W.H. & M.B. Duncan 1988. Trees of the Southeastern United States. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia.

Elias, T.S. 1989. Field guide to North American trees. Revised ed. Grolier Book Clubs Inc., Danbury, Connecticut.

Flint, H.L. 1983. Landscape plants for eastern North America. John Wiley and Sons, Inc, New York, New York.

Harrar, E.S. & J.G. Harrar. 1962. Guide to southern trees. 2^nd ed. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York.

Little, E.E. 1996. National Audubon Society field guide to North American trees: Eastern region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York.

USDA Forest Service 1974. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agricultural Handbook 450. USDA, Washington, DC.

USDA Forest Service 1990. Silvics of North America. Agricultural Handbook 654. Forest Service, USDA, Washington, DC.

Young, J. A. & C.G. Young. 1992. Seeds of woody plants in North America. Revised and enlarged ed. Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon.

Prepared By

Alfredo "Fred" B. Lorenzo

Formerly Southern University and A&M College

College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Species Coordinator

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 10jan02 jsp; 24feb03 ahv; 05jun06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

Attribution: U.S. Department of Agriculture