Part 23

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades ovate, broadest near the base, short-pointed at the tip, rounded at the base, up to 4 inches long and nearly as broad, coarsely toothed along the edges, occasionally with shallow lobes, yellow-green and hairy on the upper surface, paler and hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks stout, up to 1 inch long, hairy.

Flowers: Showy, several in a cluster, appearing in April and May, each up to 1 inch across, with 5 white petals.

Fruit: Spherical or nearly so, up to 1 inch in diameter, red, fleshy but dry, with 4-5 nutlets.

Wood: Heavy, hard, close-grained, brown.

Habitat: Moist woods.

Range: Southern Ontario across to Minnesota, south to Oklahoma, east to Alabama.

Distinguishing Features: The Red Haw is distinguished by its densely hairy, ovate leaves which are often shallowly lobed.

PRUINOSE HAW Crataegus pruinosa (Wendl.) K. Koch

Growth Form: Small tree to 15 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 8 inches; crown broad and irregular.

Bark: Dark gray, scaly, furrowed.

Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown, smooth, with spines up to 2 inches long; leaf scars alternate, crescent-shaped, slightly elevated, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Rounded, up to ⅛ inch in diameter, reddish-brown, smooth or nearly so.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades mostly ovate, broadest below the middle, pointed at the tip, rounded at the base, up to 3 inches long and about ⅔ as broad, coarsely toothed along the edges and frequently shallowly lobed, bluish-green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth on the lower surface; leafstalks stout, up to 1 inch long, smooth or somewhat hairy.

Flowers: Showy, several in a cluster, appearing in May and early June, each up to 1 inch across, with 5 white petals.

Fruit: Spherical or nearly so, up to ¾ inch in diameter, dark red to purple, fleshy but dry, with 5 nutlets.

Wood: Heavy, hard, close-grained, brown.

Habitat: Woods and thickets.

Range: Newfoundland to southern Ontario, south to Arkansas, east to North Carolina.

Distinguishing Features: The Pruinose Haw is distinguished by its bluish-green leaves which are widest just below the middle.

OTHER HAWTHORNS

Many other hawthorns occur in Illinois. Several of them have been found only a very few times. Most of them are difficult to distinguish unless leaves, flowers, and fruits are available. A few of the hawthorns which are likely to be encountered are described on this and the following page.

Scarlet Hawthorn (Crataegus coccinioides Ashe). This hawthorn grows to a height of 15 feet and has very scaly brown bark. The slender gray twigs have many stout, sharp spines up to 2 inches long. The ovate leaves are coarsely toothed and usually shallowly lobed. There are some hairs on both surfaces of the leaves. The spherical fruits, when mature, are deep red speckled with several pale dots. There are usually 5 nutlets inside each fruit. The Scarlet Hawthorn is found primarily on rocky hills.

Urn-shaped Hawthorn (Crataegus calpodendron (Ehrh.) Medic.) The Urn-shaped Hawthorn is named for the shape of its fruit, which is usually about ½ inch long, red, with sweet flesh and 2-3 nutlets inside. This small tree only grows to a height of about 15 feet. The leaves are usually ovate and are coarsely toothed and often shallowly lobed. They have a greenish-yellow color and are hairy, at least on the underneath surface. This hawthorn frequently grows along rocky streams.

Green Haw (Crataegus viridis L.). The Green Haw is primarily a tree of low, wet woods, where it grows to a height of nearly 30 feet and has a gray, scaly bark. The rather variable leaves range from elliptic to elliptic-ovate and toothed to occasionally shallowly lobed. The leaves are thin and smooth on both surfaces, except for some tufts of hair along the axils of the veins on the lower surface. The orange-red fruits are spherical and about ⅓ inch in diameter. There are 5 nutlets embedded in the rather sweet flesh.

Dotted Haw (Crataegus punctata Jacq.). This hawthorn grows to a height of about 20 feet and has many stout thorns on its twigs. The leaves generally are broadest above the middle and are obovate. The edges of the leaves are usually toothed from the middle to the tip. Sometimes lobes are formed. The leaves have a relatively thick texture and are hairy on the veins of the under surface of the leaves. The usually spherical fruit is about ¾ inch in diameter and contains 3 or 5 nutlets. The Dotted Thorn often forms thickets along the edges of woods or in rocky fields.

PERSIMMON Diospyros virginiana L.

Growth Form: Medium tree up to 50 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1 foot; crown broad and rounded or flattened. (At one time in the Wabash Valley, Persimmon trees nearly 3 feet in diameter were known.)

Bark: Dark gray to black, broken at maturity into squarish blocks.