Midland Hawthorn?

[NickU]

Can anyone say if this pink hawthorn bush with double flowers growing on a roadside with farmland around, a mile or so from the nearest village/house, is a Midland Hawthorn Crataegus laevigata or an unusual form of C. monogyna? I don't have any big close ups for counting the styles.. And is it necessarily a wild form or could it be a cultivated form such as Paul's scarlet?

19.5.2011 near Bath.







Nick Upton

[Dorts]

Impossible to say without a pic of those styles. But having said that, Crataegus laevigata is more prone to producing pink/scarlet forms than C. monogyna.
The two do hybridise quite readily.
Dorts.

[NickU]

Many thanks for your advice. I may have to wait until it flowers again next year to inspect very closely... now i now what to check for. Until then it's a "probable" C. laevigata I reckon, though realise it could be a cross or cultivated escape.

[bigdave60dog]

That`s a hard one. The leaves are big and not greatly indented so it could be but in my experience coloured thorns are not on Midland Hawthorn stocks. However, with most planted quicks being from Midland stock these days. The balance of probablility is swinging in favour of yours being a fancy midlander.
Dave

[NickU]

Many thanks for your advice, Dave. I may never be fully sure if it's a fully wild one, but I'll investigate more closely when it flowers next year to be more sure of the species at least.

[King Edward]

Why do you need the flowers? Surely you can check the developing fruits to see how many seeds there are (2-3 for Midland, 1 for Common).

With the seeds being capable of being widely dispersed by birds, this tree could have come from anywhere. A showy double form like this is highly likely to be of garden origin at some point.

[NickU]

Good point... yes, I THINK I can find it again, though it won't be as easy to spot now as when it was a blaze of pink! It's beside quite a fast road and I had to park some way away and walk back to it. If the garden forms are fertile, it may well be one of them as it was a real eye-catcher and you're suggesting the wild forms are less showy.

[King Edward]

I don't know about hawthorn in particular, but wild plants aren't usually double. The extra petals don't make the flowers more attractive to insects, and since they're usually produced at the expense of stamens and/or nectaries, they're likely to reduce fertility or visits by pollinators (these should still produce fruit and seeds though).

[NickU]

Yes, I'm sure you're right. Wild flowers tend to be simple, ornamentals more fancy. From what I've read the ornamental double pink hawthorns are usually sterile, though, so I'm not sure how this plant got where it is out in open countryside, but I'm sure there's an explanation!