Crataegus flabellata
Gray’s Hawthorn
A member of the rose family, Gray’s Hawthorn is also referred to as fanleaf hawthorn for its fan-shaped or triangular leaves. Its berries are edible and make tasty pies and desserts. The berries also have traditional uses in herbal medicine for heart disorders. Gray’s Hawthorn is monoecious, containing both male and female flowers on the same tree. Its flowers give off a distinctly pungent and rotting smell, which is only attractive if you happen to be a midge or small fly, Hawthorn’s main pollinator. If you’d like to plant one, you’ll find Gray’s Hawthorn is not fussy at all. It is very tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, doing well in wet, dry, rich and clay-heavy soils alike. (Hint: Plant it somewhere the thorns of the Hawthorn won’t get in your way!) This tree takes its name from Asa Gray, the famous 19th-century American botanist.