Description: Shrub or small tree with short trunk and regular, rounded crown of upright branches, abundant small flowers in the spring, many small, round red fruits and brilliant autumn foliage.

Height: to 9m

Diameter: 0.1-0.3 m

Leaves: 4-6 cm long, 2.5-4.5 cm wide. Broadly ovate to triangular or 3-lobed, short-pointed at tip, nearly straight to slightly notched at the base; coarsely saw-toothed, often with 5 shallow lobes; slightly hairy when young. Tinged with red, becoming shiny dark green above, paler beneath; turning scarlet and orange in autumn.

Shoots: Shiny brown, with slender spines.

Bark: Light brown, smooth, thin, becoming scaly.

Flowers: More than 12 mm wide with five white petals, 20 pale yellow stamens, and 3-5 styles; many flowers in compact, hairless clusters; in late spring (often July in UK): flowering latest of all the better known species of Hawthorn.

Fruit: 6 mm in diameter; shiny red or scarlet, with ring scar from shed calyx, with thin dry pulp and 3-5 nutlets exposed at ends; maturng in autumn and persisting until spring.

Habitat: Moist valley soils.

Range: Virginia south to N Florida, west to Arkansas, and north to S Missouri; naturalised locally further east to Massachusets; to 600m.

This is one of the showiest and most desirable hawthorns for planting. In the early 19th century, it was introduced into Pennsylvania from Washington D.C., as a hedge plant and is thus called "Washington-thorn". The specific name refers to the pear-like foliage. Introduced to Britain in 1738.

Information: Audubon (1980)

Source: Arivegaig Nursery, Acharacle, Ardnamurchan. Seed from Chiltern seeds, Milnthorpe.

Purchased: One plant (lifted specially for us) at c 0.5m, 1993.09.27, seeds (86) bought early 1995 and sown on 1995.02.21. 22 eventually germinated.

Planted: Intended for US area east boundary, but for protection, initial plant went next to the wall in our garden shelter belt. Of the seedlings, 13 survived to be planted out, the first eight in spring 1997 as the start of a hedge at D20B on the southern boundary of the property. These were neatly pruned by sheep at the end of the growing season and one vanished. Four more were added in spring 1998, and a final one on 1998.09.30. All are protected by short tree-shelters made from 2 litre PET bottles, and are at about 30 cm spacing.

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