Crataegus macrosperma, the bigfruit hawthorn is a species of hawthorn native to most of the eastern United States and adjacent Canada, though uncommon at lower altitudes in the south. It is sometimes misidentified as C. flabellata.[2] It is one of the earliest hawthorns to bloom in spring.[3]
Description
It is a small tree with long straight thorns. It has white flowers that bloom during the spring that smell like dead fish, attracting midges that fertilize the flowers, resulting in edible reddish-orange fruits that appear during the fall.[4]
The most fruit will appear if grown in full sunlight. It tolerates clay soils, drought, and wind, but not salt air. Seed-grown trees will take 5–8 years before producing fruit, but grafted trees often have flowers by the third year.[4]
Ethnobotany
The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves, berries, and flowers are used in medicine for cardiovascular health.[4]
^Phipps, J.B. (2015), "Crataegus macrosperma Ashe, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 16: 73. 1900", in L. Brouillet; K. Gandhi; C.L. Howard; H. Jeude; R.W. Kiger; J.B. Phipps; A.C. Pryor; H.H. Schmidt; J.L. Strother; J.L. Zarucchi (eds.), Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae, Flora of North America North of Mexico, vol. 9, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press
