{"slug":"crataegus-monogyna","scientific_name":"Crataegus monogyna","common_names":["Hawthorn","Common hawthorn","May","Quickthorn"],"family":"Rosaceae","type":"broadleaf_deciduous","mature_height_m":10,"mature_spread_m":8,"growth_rate":"medium","lifespan_years":300,"hardiness_zones":null,"sun":"full_partial","water":"medium","soil":"Almost any soil including heavy clay and chalk; flowers and fruits best in full sun","native_range":"Native throughout Europe including Britain and Ireland, North Africa and western Asia; naturalised in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.","description":"A thorny small tree or large shrub to about 15 m, smothered in white May blossom and red haws in autumn. It is the standard hedging plant of the British and Irish countryside and supports over 300 insect species, nesting birds and migrating thrushes. Tough, cheap and quick to establish, so it is used in almost every hedgerow and scrub-planting scheme.","care":"Plant bare-root in winter, in a staggered double row for hedges, and cut back hard after planting to thicken. Trim hedges once a year in late winter after berries are eaten; standards need little pruning. Susceptible to fireblight, aphids and gall mites. Thorns make it unsuitable next to play areas.","benefits":["wildlife","birds","pollinators","flowers","small_space","windbreak"],"uses":["hedgerow","small_yard","screening","windbreak","reforestation"],"cautions":["thorns","invasive_elsewhere"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Hawthorn_fruit.JPG","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Hawthorn_fruit.JPG (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/hawthorn/","https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/crataegus-monogyna","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/crataegus-monogyna.md","regions":[{"country":"ES","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"},{"country":"FR","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"},{"country":"GB","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/hawthorn/"},{"country":"IE","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"},{"country":"MA","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"},{"country":"AU","region":"NSW","locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced and naturalised per WCVP; a recognised environmental weed in south-eastern Australia","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"},{"country":"AU","region":"QLD","locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"},{"country":"NZ","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced and naturalised on both islands per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"},{"country":"ZA","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Introduced (Cape Provinces, Free State) per WCVP","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/9220780"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}