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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.  3rd 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.  2nd 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 

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