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Crataegus flava
Yellowleaf Hawthorn
Beautiful Hawthorn
Sargent's Hawthorn
Synonym(s): Crataegus sargentii
Florida native
An occasional hawthorn of open upland hammocks and other deciduous woods in the central panhandle plus Lafayette and Alachua Counties. The range extends throughout the southeast - mostly in the coastal plain - from Mississippi north into Pennsylvania.
Yellow haw is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 5m (16-1/2 ft.) tall. Branches are thorny with thorns up to 6cm (2-1/3 in.) long. The leaves are alternate, simple, widest above the middle, toothed and shallowly lobed with part of the leaf sometimes extending down the petiole to make it appear winged. Tiny red glands may be detected with magnification at the tips of the leaf teeth. The showy white flowers are 10-16mm (4/10 to 5/8 in.) wide and appear in the leaf axils singly or in clusters of three to five. The berry-like fruit is 8-15mm in diameter at the end of long stalks and may be yellow to purplish but mostly red at maturity.
Some sources treat yellow hawthorn - C. flava - and beautiful hawthorn - C. sargentii as separate species and historically both being found in Florida, although most now consider at least all Florida occurrences as being Crataegus flava.
Crataegus flava is a member of the Rosaceae - Rose family.
Other species of the Crataegus genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Crataegus aestivalis - MAY HAW
Crataegus marshallii - PARSLEY HAWTHORN
Crataegus michauxii - MICHAUX'S HAWTHORN
Crataegus spathulata - LITTLEHIP HAWTHORN
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 18, 2021
