Often the flowers have a sweet, fetid odor. The taste, texture and color varies, but haws can be red, yellow, green or black, and usually they are dry and mealy but can be sweet and juicy. The small leaf scars are crescent-shaped with 3 bundle scars. Buds are roundish, with about 6 fleshy, reddish scales. The reddish-brown to gray bark is scaly or shallowly furrowed, sometimes with branched thorns on the trunk.
Hawthorns are native to North America, Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia.
They are native to Iowa and are planted throughout the state. Hawthorns are common to bottomlands and disturbed upland sites. They are intolerant of shade and, though slow-growing, are aggressive invaders of pastures, prairies and abandoned fields near woods. They will grow in a variety of soils, but occur particularly on calcareous soils. Being members of the rose family, hawthorns are susceptible to many pests and diseases .