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| ## Pear hawthorn {#pear-hawthorn .Title-Header}                       |
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| *Crataegus calpodendron* (Ehrh.) Medik.                               |
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| Plant Symbol = CRCA                                                   |
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##### *Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

### Alternative Name

blackthorn

## 

### Uses

*Erosion Control*: Because it tolerates a wide variety of sites, it can
be planted to stabilize banks, for shelterbelts, and from wind and water
erosion.

*Timber*: Although the wood is hard and strong, it has no commercial
value except for tool handles and other small items.

*Wildlife*: It provides excellent cover and nesting sites for many
smaller birds. Birds, rodents and other smaller mammals eat the small
fruits. White tailed deer browse the young twigs and leaves.

*Beautification*: Excellent for environmental plantings including small
specimen tree and shrub border.

## 

### Status

# Please consult the Plants Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

## 

### Description

*General*: It is a small tree that grows to twenty feet high; with
wide-spreading, horizontal, thorny branches. Leaves are broadest below
or above the middle, thin, dull yellow-green, shiny, pubescent
underneath, some with shallow lobes near tip. Flowers are produced in
several flowered clusters with anthers mostly pink. Fruits are attached
on slender stalks, elongated, and bright red in
color.![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.7in"
height="2.4194444444444443in"}

*Distribution*: Pear hawthorn grows from Ontario and Minnesota, south to
Georgia and Missouri.

## 

### Adaptation

## Although *Crataegus calpodendron* will succeed in partial shade and different soil types, it grows best in full sunlight, in well-drained loamy soils. Pear hawthorn will tolerate wet soils becoming drought tolerant once established. It is also wind tolerant, making it a good tree species in shelterbelt planting. It is tolerant of atmospheric pollution and performs well in urban settings.

## 

### Establishment

*Propagation from Seed:* Seeds can propagate Pear hawthorn. Successful
propagation using seeds requires acid scarification followed by warm
stratification and prechilling. Seeds, whose numbers per lb. varies with
species, are acid scarified for thirty minutes, prechilled for three
months, then planted early in the fall, in drill rows eight to twelve
inches apart and covered with 1/4 inch of soil. Seedlings must not be
kept in the nursery longer than a year.

Containerized trees should be planted when they are no more than eight
feet tall, in the fall or spring. Balled and burlapped trees should be
planted in early spring.

### Management

Pruning should be done in the winter or early spring in order to
maintain a clear shoot leader on young trees and/or remove the weakest
branches to allow more light to pass through. Suckers or stems arising
from the roots should be removed when they become noticeable.

## 

### Pest and Potential Problems

Although pests and diseases seldom affect it, it is susceptible to
fireblight, cedar-hawthorn rust, cedar-quince rust, leaf blight, fruit
rot, and leaf spot.

## 

### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Consult your local nurseries to choose the right cultivar for your
specific landscape. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation
Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more
information. Look in the phone book under "United States Government."
The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the
subheading "Department of Agriculture."

### References

Dirr, M.A. 1990. *Manual of woody landscape plants: their
identification, ornamental characteristics, culture, propagation and
uses*. 3^rd^ ed. Stipes, Champaign, Illinois.

Duncan, W.H. & M.B. Duncan 1988. *Trees of the Southeastern United
States.* University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia.

Elias, T.S. 1989. *Field guide to North American trees*. Revised ed.
Grolier Book Clubs Inc., Danbury, Connecticut.

Flint, H.L. 1983. *Landscape plants for eastern North America*. John
Wiley and Sons, Inc, New York, New York.

Harrar, E.S. & J.G. Harrar. 1962. *Guide to southern trees*. 2^nd^ ed.
Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York.

Little, E.E. 1996. *National Audubon Society field guide to North
American trees: Eastern region*. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York.

Texas A&M University 2001. Native trees of Texas. Department of
Horticulture, College Station, Texas. Accessed: 10jan02.
\<http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/indexscientific.htm\>

USDA Forest Service 1974. *Seeds of woody plants in the United States*.
Agricultural Handbook 450. USDA, Washington, DC.

USDA Forest Service 1990. *Silvics of North America*. Agricultural
Handbook 654. Forest Service, USDA, Washington, DC.

Young, J. A. & C.G. Young. 1992. *Seeds of woody plants in North
America*. Revised and enlarged ed. Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon

### Prepared By

*Alfredo B. Lorenzo*

Formerly, Southern University and A&M College

College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana

### Species Coordinator

*Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 10jan02 jsp; 24feb03 ahv; 05jun06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*