Thorns

Thorns (Crataegus) - Hardy flowering trees, of which some of the most beautiful kinds are seldom planted; many are charming for their flowers, others for their fruits, while in a few the habit is picturesque. Perhaps the most beautiful of all is C. Oxyacantha, the Hawthorn or Whitethorn, and its varieties have every gradation of tint, from deep crimson, through pinks, to the snowy whiteness of the double sort. Pauls Double Scarlet, the double pink, double white, the single scarlet (Punicea), rose (Carminata or Rosea), and various others, are precious for the garden. Some varieties, like the graceful Pendula, are remarkable for their habit; others have distinct foliage, and a few differ as regards fruit, there being white and yellow berried varieties.

Other species deserving of a place in gardens are many. A selection of the best includes the Cockspur Thorn (C. Crusgalli), from North America, usually about 10 feet high, is remarkable for peculiar growth, especially the variety pyracanthifolia. In this the branches spread out like a table, and the older the tree becomes the more pronounced the table-like growth. Other distinct sorts of the Cockspur Thorn are nana, linearis, ovalifolia, and prunifolia. The Scarlet-fruited Thorn, also N. American, is beautiful both when covered with white bloom in early summer or with scarlet fruits in autumn. The Tansy-leaved Thorn (C. tanacetifolia) is distinct is foliage, with cut leaves of a whitish hue, and it is one of the latest Thorns to flower. C. Azarolus, Aronia, and orientalis are all natives of the Levant, and they are so beautiful in autumn, with fine-colored fruits as big as Hazel nuts, that they deserve a place. One specimen of any of these on a lawn would be sufficient in a small garden, as they are spreading, and in good soils 15 or 20 feet high. The Washington Thorn (C. cordata) flowers when all the others are past; hence its value. C. glandulosa, also known as C. flava, has yellow fruits. C. Douglasi has dark purple haws, and C. melanocarpa and C. nigra have black haws. The Pyracantha (C. Pyracantha), so common as a wall climber, is a favourite because of its orange-scarlet berries and evergreen foliage. It is suitable for planting in the open, and some beautiful effect may be made by making its spreading and trailing growth serve as a margin to groups of taller Thorns, or other small trees. The variety Laelandi fruits more freely than the common Pyracantha when planted as a bush, and another variety, Pausiflora, is dwarfer and closer in habit, and, in France, where these shrubs are much grown, is found to be the hardiest.

Until of late the Hawthorns of America were little known; many kinds have now been described, among which the following kinds are said to be of garden value. They are adapted to all kinds of ornamental planting, and seem to prefer heavy limestone soil, for they occur very sparingly in light or sandy soils. Planters have an idea that they are difficult to transplant, but if pruned back rather severely, quite large plants may be moved without loss, and in two or three years time they will be objects of great beauty.

Thorns Pictures

Dicentra cucullaria (L.) Bernh. - dutchman's breeches

Dicentra cucullaria (L.) Bernh. - dutchman's breeches

Dicentra cucullaria (L.) Bernh. - dutchman's breeches

Dicentra uniflora Kellogg - longhorn steer's-head

Dicentra formosa (Haw.) Walp. - Pacific bleeding heart

Dicentra formosa (Haw.) Walp. - Pacific bleeding heart

Related Flowers

Crataegus Angustifolia

Crataegus Angustifolia - This is proving much more attractive as a wall shrub than appeared likely when it was first introduced a few years ago, fruiting very freely and growing luxuriantly. It is quite evergreen, like the common Pyracantha, but differs from it in its narrower downy leaves. The fruits become a brilliant orange, and on sunny winter days make a bright effect.

Crataegus Arnoldiana

Crataegus Arnoldiana - tree 15 or 20 feet in height, with a broad irregular head. The flowers are borne as loose downy clusters towards the end of May. The bright crimson fruit, usually a little longer than broad, ripens about the middle of August, and soon falls. The tree is remarkable for the early ripening of its finely-colored fruits in summer or early autumn.

Crataegus Baxteri

Crataegus Baxteri - A spreading shrub, with a broad head and 12 to 14 feet high. The flowers come about the first week in June, and the orange-red fruits ripen about the middle of October. The leaves are dull bluish-green, nearly oval in outline, and with a peculiarly concave surface, by which the tree is easily recognised.

Crataegus Beata

Crataegus Beata - A handsome shrub of 15 to 18 feet, bearing large saucer-shaped flowers, an inch or more across, with dark crimson anthers, coming into bloom during the last week in May. The oblong, crimson fruit, gathered in large drooping clusters, ripens at the end of September or early in October. The foliage is a deep blue-green, and the tree is exceedingly handsome when in flower.

Crataegus Coccinoides

Crataegus Coccinoides - Comes rather near C. Durobrivensis, but differs in its dark grey branches, smaller flowers, and the early dropping of its fruit. It is a handsome species, found from S. Illinois to E. Missouri.

Crataegus Dunbari

Crataegus Dunbari - Forms a dense round topped shrub of 12 to 15 feet. The flowers, with rose-colored anthers, gathered into long compound clusters, open about 20th May. The large drooping clusters of showy crimson fruit ripen towards the end of September. The leaves are very distinct in outline, oval or almost evenly rounded.

Crataegus Durobrivensis

Crataegus Durobrivensis - A tall, upright shrub of 15 to 18 feet, with olive-grey stems. The large showy flowers, with rose-colored anthers, open in the last week of May, and the glowing scarlet fruits ripen about the end of September and hang without loss of beauty all through the autumn and early winter, when their color is very valuable.

Crataegus Ellwangeriana

Crataegus Ellwangeriana - A handsome tree 25 or more feet high, with a trunk a foot in diameter, and branching into a spreading head 25 to 30 feet across. The fragrant flowers, an inch across, with rosy anthers, come in large clusters about 20th May. The drooping crimson fruits ripen early in September, and fall towards the end of the month; when just matured their effect is very striking, but the birds soon find them out. The leaves are large, oval, and dark green.

Crataegus Ferentaria

Crataegus Ferentaria - A tall, handsome shrub of 15 to 18 feet, with hairy clusters of flower, open towards the end of May. The small fruits of a glowing crimson hang in broad drooping clusters, fully colored from about the middle of September. The leaves turn to a fine yellow in the autumn, and fall early.

Crataegus Formosa

Crataegus Formosa - A tall, branching shrub of 12 to 15 feet, with a spreading head. The large showy flowers come into bloom about the last week in May, and the glaucous fruits ripen in October. The foliage is of a distinct yellowish-green.

Crataegus Holmesiana

Crataegus Holmesiana - A tree 30 feet in height, with upright branches and a broad compact head. The cup-shaped flowers, with purple-red anthers, open about the middle of May. The bright crimson lustrous fruits ripen and fall early in September. The leaves are yellowish-green in color, with prominent lobes and long sharp teeth.

Crataegus Laneyi

Crataegus Laneyi - A tall shrub with slender, spreading branches, rare even in its own country. The large flowers on stems covered with shaggy hairs, come into bloom during the first week of June, and the orange-red fruits ripen in October.

Crataegus Pedicillata

Crataegus Pedicillata - Bears flowers with rose-colored anthers, which expand about 24th May. The bright scarlet fruits ripen early in September and fall about the middle of the month. The leaves are broadly-oval and rich dark green in color. Prof. Sargent regards this as "one of the largest and most beautiful thorn-trees of the northern United States."

Crataegus Pringlei

Crataegus Pringlei - Forms a dense oval head, branching from near the ground and reaching a height of 20 to 30 feet. The white flowers, with reddish anthers, open about the middle of May, and the dull-red fruits—occasionally marked with yellowish freckles—ripen about the end of August and fall about three weeks later. This Hawthorn is readily distinguished by its drooping leaves of convex form, this being due to the infolding of the sides towards the mid-rib.

Crataegus Spissiflora

Crataegus Spissiflora - A shrub or low tree in which the flowers, with ten stamens and purple-red anthers, are borne in dense short clusters, and come into beauty just after the middle of May. The bright scarlet, almost pear-shaped fruits are borne in dense clusters, which began to color in August, but are not fully ripe till the middle of September. The foliage is ample, and the fruit remarkably handsome when ripe.