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Crataegus crus-galli

Common name:	Cockspur Thorn	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Quebec to Georgia, west to Louisiana. Locally naturalized in Europe[50].
Habitat:	Thickets and open ground, especially in dry or rocky places[43]. Usually found on the slopes of low hills in rich soils[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. acutifolia[B,P] C. acutifolia var. insignis[B,P] C. algens[B,P] C. barrettiana[B,P] C. bushii[B,P] C. canbyi[B,P] C. cherokeensis[B,P] C. cocksii[B,P] C. crus-galli var. barrettiana[B,P] C. crus-galli var. bellica[B,P] C. crus-galli var. capillata[B,P] C. crus-galli var. exigua[B,P] C. crus-galli var. leptophylla[B,P] C. crus-galli var. macra[B,P] C. crus-galli var. oblongata[B,P] C. crus-galli var. pachyphylla[B,P] C. crus-galli var. pyracanthifolia[B,P] C. crus-gallii[H] C. danielsii[B,P] C. denaria[B,P] C. fecunda[B,P] C. fontanesiana[B] C. fontanesiana auct. non[P] C. hannibalensis[B,P] C. mohrii[B,P] C. operta[B,P] C. palliata[B,P] C. palmeri[B,P] C. permixta[B,P] C. pyracanthoides[B,P] C. regalis[B,G,P] C. regalis var. paradoxa[B,P] C. sabineana[B,P] C. salicifolia[G] C. schizophylla[B,P] C. signata[B,P] C. subpilosa[B,P] C. tantula[B,P] C. tenax[B,P] C. triumphalis[B,P] C. uniqua[B,P] C. vallicola[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cock-spur Hawthorn [B], Cockspur Hawthorn [P], Cockspur Thorn Of EN Amer [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 10m by 10m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in June, and the seeds ripen in October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Midges. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry moist or wet soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[62, 101, 105]. A dry flesh, it is used in jellies[43]. The fruit is about 1cm in diameter and is borne in small clusters[200]. It often persists on the tree until spring[200]. This suggests that it does not make very good eating[K]. There are up to five fairly large seeds in the centre of the fruit, these often stick together and so the effect is of eating a cherry-like fruit with a single seed[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cardiotonic Hypotensive.

Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, the fruits and flowers of many hawthorns are well-known in herbal folk medicine as a heart tonic and modern research has borne out this use. The fruits and flowers have a hypotensive effect as well as acting as a direct and mild heart tonic[222]. They are especially indicated in the treatment of weak heart combined with high blood pressure[222]. Prolonged use is necessary for it to be efficacious[222]. It is normally used either as a tea or a tincture[222].

Other Uses

Hedge Wood.

Very amenable to trimming, the plant can even be cut right back into very old wood and will resprout freely. It is often used as a hedge[82].
Wood - fine-grained, hard and heavy. Used for tool handles etc[46, 61, 227].

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, it prefers a well-drained moisture retentive loamy soil but is not at all fussy[11, 200]. Once established, it succeeds in excessively moist soils and also tolerates drought[200]. It grows well on a chalk soil and also in heavy clay soils[200]. A position in full sun is best when plants are being grown for their fruit, they also succeed in semi-shade though fruit yields and quality will be lower in such a position[11, 200]. Most members of this genus succeed in exposed positions, they also tolerate atmospheric pollution[200].
A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -18° c[202].
A very ornamental plant[1, 11]. There are many named forms, selected for their ornamental value[200].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[200].
Seedling trees take from 5 - 8 years before they start bearing fruit, though grafted trees will often flower heavily in their third year[K].
The flowers have a foetid smell somewhat like decaying fish. This attracts midges which are the main means of fertilization. When freshly open, the flowers have more pleasant scent with balsamic undertones[245].
Seedlings should not be left in a seedbed for more than 2 years without being transplanted[11].
This plant is often confused in cultivation with C. prunifolia. 'Splendens'[11].

Propagation

Seed - this is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame, some of the seed will germinate in the spring, though most will probably take another year. Stored seed can be very slow and erratic to germinate, it should be warm stratified for 3 months at 15° c and then cold stratified for another 3 months at 4° c[164]. It may still take another 18 months to germinate[78]. Scarifying the seed before stratifying it might reduce this time[80]. Fermenting the seed for a few days in its own pulp may also speed up the germination process[K]. Another possibility is to harvest the seed 'green' (as soon as the embryo has fully developed but before the seedcoat hardens) and sow it immediately in a cold frame. If timed well, it can germinate in the spring[80]. If you are only growing small quantities of plants, it is best to pot up the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on in individual pots for their first year, planting them out in late spring into nursery beds or their final positions. When growing larger quantities, it might be best to sow them directly outdoors in a seedbed, but with protection from mice and other seed-eating creatures. Grow them on in the seedbed until large enough to plant out, but undercut the roots if they are to be left undisturbed for more than two years.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have an unpleasant smell like decaying fish, though when freshly open they also have a pleasant balsamic undertone.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Crataegus crus-gallii (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[80] McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985 ISBN 0-901361-21-6
Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[101] Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences 1978
A very readable guide to some wild foods of Canada.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

Plant Passporting

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Wed Sep 26 16:58:15 2001

This information has been taken from DEFRA Guide to Plant Passporting. Which places restrictions on plants which can be traded in the UK and the EU mainly because they are carriers for pests and diseases.

Beta vulgaris (Beet), Chaenomeles (Ornamental quince, Japonica), Citrus (Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc.), Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster), Crataegus (Hawthorn), Cydonia (Quince), Eriobotrya (Includes loquat), Fortunella and hybrids (Kumquat), Humulus lupulus (Hop (including ornamentals)), Malus (Apple (including ornamentals)), Mespilus (Medlar), Poncirus and hybrids (Ornamental citrus), Prunus (other than Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica) (Includes almond, apricot, cherry, damson, greengage, nectarine, peach, plum, sloe and ornamental/flowering varieties), Pyracantha (Firethorn), Pyrus (Pear (including ornamentals)), Solanum (stolon or tuber forming types) (Potato), Sorbus (other than Sorbus intermedia) (Includes rowan and whitebeam), Stranvaesia (Stranvaesia), Vitis (Grape, includes grape vine and ornamental grape).

Many other plants require pasporting for commercial growers, these include Abies, Allium ascalonicum, Allium cepa, Allium porrum, Allium schoenoprasum, Apium graveolens, Plants of the family Araceae, Argyranthemum, Aster, Brassica, Castanea, Capsicum annuum, Cucumis, Dendranthema, Dianthus and hybrids, Euphorbia, Exacum, Fragaria, Gerbera, Gypsophila, Helianthus annuus, Impatiens (all varieties of New Guinea hybrids), Lactuca, Larix, Leucanthemum, Lupinus, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, Plants of the family Marantaceae, Medicago sativa, Plants of the family Musaceae, Nicotiana, Pelargonium, Persea, Phaseolus, Picea, Pinus, Platanus, Populus, Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica, Pseudotsuga, Quercus, Rubus, Plants of the family Solanaceae (other than plants of stolon or tuber forming species of Solanum and their hybrids), Solanum melongena, Spinacia, Plants of the family Strelitziaceae, Tanacetum, Tsuga, Verbena.

Cross references: Plants: Beta vulgaris, Humulus lupulus. Genera: Chaenomeles, Citrus, Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cydonia, Eriobotrya, Fortunella, Malus, Mespilus, Poncirus, Prunus, Pyracantha, Pyrus, Solanum, Sorbus, Stranvaesia, Vitis.

Crataegus Species - The Hawthorns.

Carlos A. Nu�ez (lit007@hotmail.com) Thu Nov 8 20:56:39 2001

hi i am a mexican student and i studied in Chapingo University, my tesis was in propagation for cuttings of Crataegus and i obtain 30% of rooting. how i will do to publisher this test? and i want information above to other test for finish my tesis. how i obtain this information? thanks for you cooperation atte Carlos A. Nu�ez

Details of Growing Condition: universidad autonoma Chapingo.

Cross references: Genera: Crataegus.

Crataegus Species - The Hawthorns.

Ray Scheel (ray_scheel@hotmail.com) Thu Mar 27 16:43:15 2003

I have had great success germinating the seeds of Crataegus marshallii (Parsley haw) with a simple operation of separating the ripe seeds from the pulp in the fall (late October), stratifying in the refridgerator until the seeds showed signs of germinating (mid-February), and planting into plugs. I had a germination rate of almost 100% and by late March (5 months after collecting seed). I have a tray of seedlings putting out true leaves and about ready to pot up into larger containers, with a couple of seedling lost to neglect replaced by seeds sprouting in the bag still in the fridge.

Details of Growing Condition: East Texas, USDA 8b, Sunset 31, mixed woodlands, understory tree.

Cross references: Plants: Crataegus marshallii. Genera: Crataegus. Web-pages: Crataegus Species - The Hawthorns..

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