Crataegus flava
Encyclopedia
Crataegus flava, summer haw, yellow-fruited thorn is a very rare species
of hawthorn
that was long known in cultivation in England but apparently is no longer grown. Unfortunately, due to an error by Sargent
the name C. flava was, and often still is, used for a different species C. lacrimata, which belongs to a different series
, the Lacrimatae. Series
Flavae is another group of species that were thought to be related to the misidentified C. flava, and although it is now apparent that they are not related, the name of the group remains. Because the true identity of this species has only recently been discovered, the name is rarely used correctly.
Like most hawthorns, plants similar to C. flava bear edible fruit
that can be used to make jellies and jams, have a flavor that is mealy and a bit dry, and grow in large clusters. Some are shaped like pear
s. Also like most hawthorns, the wood of C. flava is hard and can be made into small tools.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of hawthorn
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,...
that was long known in cultivation in England but apparently is no longer grown. Unfortunately, due to an error by Sargent
Charles Sprague Sargent
Charles Sprague Sargent was an American botanist. He was the first director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts and the standard botanical author abbreviation Sarg. is applied to plants he described.-Biography:Sargent was the second son of Henrietta and...
the name C. flava was, and often still is, used for a different species C. lacrimata, which belongs to a different series
Series (botany)
Series is a low-level taxonomic rank below that of section but above that of species.In botany, a series is a subdivision of a genus...
, the Lacrimatae. Series
Series (botany)
Series is a low-level taxonomic rank below that of section but above that of species.In botany, a series is a subdivision of a genus...
Flavae is another group of species that were thought to be related to the misidentified C. flava, and although it is now apparent that they are not related, the name of the group remains. Because the true identity of this species has only recently been discovered, the name is rarely used correctly.
Like most hawthorns, plants similar to C. flava bear edible fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
that can be used to make jellies and jams, have a flavor that is mealy and a bit dry, and grow in large clusters. Some are shaped like pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s. Also like most hawthorns, the wood of C. flava is hard and can be made into small tools.