Crataegus festiva
Sarg.
gbif· cc0
President and Fellows of Harvard College
gbif· cc0
President and Fellows of Harvard College
Summary
Source: WikipediaA deciduous shrub reaching 3m tall and wide with hermaphroditic flowers pollinated by midges. Seeds mature September to October. Hardy to UK zone 7, not frost tender. Grows in sandy, loamy, and heavy clay soils with tolerance for alkaline pH. Adapts to semi-shade or full sun, prefers moist or wet conditions but tolerates drought. Handles strong winds and atmospheric pollution but not coastal exposure.
Description
A deciduous shrub reaching 3m tall and wide with hermaphroditic flowers pollinated by midges. Seeds mature September to October. Hardy to UK zone 7, not frost tender. Grows in sandy, loamy, and heavy clay soils with tolerance for alkaline pH. Adapts to semi-shade or full sun, prefers moist or wet conditions but tolerates drought. Handles strong winds and atmospheric pollution but not coastal exposure.
Edible Uses
The fruit is about 15mm in diameter with a delicious sweet flavour and a juicy though slightly mealy texture, making it a very enjoyable dessert fruit eaten fresh. It can also be cooked in pies and preserves, or dried for later use. Up to five fairly large seeds sit in the centre of each fruit and tend to stick together, giving the experience of eating a cherry-like fruit with a single stone.
Traditional Uses
The fruit can be eaten fresh or cooked.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
Although no specific research has been recorded for this species, the fruits and flowers of hawthorns broadly are well established in herbal folk medicine as a heart tonic, a use backed by modern research. Both parts produce a hypotensive effect and act as a gentle, direct cardiotonic, making them especially suited to treating weak heart combined with high blood pressure. Prolonged use is needed for the treatment to be effective, and it is generally taken as a tea or tincture.
Distribution
Temperate. It can grow in a wide range of soil types. It can tolerate various pH values. It can grow in very wet soils and well as tolerate drought.
Where It Grows
North America*, USA,
Cultivation
We have very little information on this species and do not know how hardy it will be in Britain. However, a tree growing in an open sunny position at Kew Botanical Gardens is healthy and bears a very good crop of fruit every year. A very easily grown plant, it prefers a well-drained moisture retentive loamy soil but is not at all fussy. Once established, it succeeds in excessively moist soils and also tolerates drought. It grows well on a chalk soil and also in heavy clay soils. 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. Most members of this genus succeed in exposed positions, they also tolerate atmospheric pollution. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Seedling trees take from 5 - 8 years before they start bearing fruit, though grafted trees will often flower heavily in their third year. 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. Seedlings should not be left in a seedbed for more than 2 years without being transplanted.
Propagation
Sow seed as soon as it is ripe in autumn in a cold frame; some will germinate the following spring, though most will likely take a further year. Stored seed is slow and erratic — warm stratify for 3 months at 15°C, then cold stratify for 3 months at 4°C, and germination may still take another 18 months. Scarifying before stratification may help, as may fermenting the seed in its own pulp for a few days. Another option is to harvest seed green — once the embryo is fully developed but before the seedcoat hardens — and sow immediately in a cold frame for possible spring germination. For small quantities, pot seedlings individually once large enough to handle, grow on for a year, then plant out in late spring to nursery beds or final positions. For larger quantities, sow direct into an outdoor seedbed with protection from mice and other seed-eaters, and undercut roots if plants will remain in the seedbed for more than two years.
Other Uses
The wood is heavy, hard, tough, and close-grained, making it suitable for tool handles, mallets, and other small items.
Notes
There are 200 or more Crataegus species.
References (2)
- Lyle, S., 2006, Discovering fruit and nuts. Land Links. p 164
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
