Crataegus orientalis is a species 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,...

 native to the Mediterranean region, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Caucasia

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

, Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

, and western Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, with fruits that are orange or various shades of red.

This species is highly variable. Christensen in his monograph divides it into four subspecies:

• C. orientalis subsp. orientalis
• C. orientalis subsp. pojarkovae (Kossych) Byatt has orange fruit.
• C. orientalis subsp. presliana K.I.Chr
• C. orientalis subsp. szovitsii (Pojarkova) K.I.Chr

Culinary uses

In Caucasia the fruits are either eaten raw or used to make a type of sweet bread.

Medicinal uses

Antithrombotic effects of ethanol extract of Crataegus orientalis leaf "significantly inhibited carrageenan-induced mice tail thrombosis in vivo."

See also

• List of hawthorn species with yellow fruit
• Medicinal use of various Crataegus species