Crataegus azarolus
Encyclopedia
Crataegus azarolus is a species of hawthorn
known by the common names azarole, mosphilla, and Mediterranean medlar. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin
and it is grown there and elsewhere as an ornamental tree
and for its fruit. It has been used historically for a number of medicinal purposes.
C. azarolus is often divided into subspecies
or varieties, for example Christensen in his monograph uses four varieties:
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
known by the common names azarole, mosphilla, and Mediterranean medlar. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
and it is grown there and elsewhere as an ornamental tree
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
and for its fruit. It has been used historically for a number of medicinal purposes.
C. azarolus is often divided into subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
or varieties, for example Christensen in his monograph uses four varieties:
- C. azarolus var. azarolus has orange fruit.
- C. azarolus var. aronia L.Carolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, has yellowish fruit often with some red tinges - C. azarolus var. chlorocarpa (Moris) K.I.Chr. has yellowish fruit
- C. azarolus var. pontica (K.Koch) K.I.Chr. has yellowish or orange fruit
External links
Further reading
- Hadjimitsi, E. and I. Zabetakis. (2005). Flavour and Fragrance Journal 20:5 507-11. "The aroma of jam prepared from fruits of mosphilla (Crataegus azarolus)."
- Phipps, J.B., O’Kennon, R.J., and Lance, R.W. (2003) "Hawthorns and medlars." Royal Horticultural Society, Cambridge, U.K.