Crataegus pentagyna

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Flowers - tea

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, and is suitable for making preserves or drying for later use. Each fruit is about 1cm in diameter and contains up to five fairly large seeds in the centre that often fuse together, giving the impression of a cherry-like fruit with a single stone.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant.

Armenia, Asia, Australia, Caucasus, China, Europe, Georgia, Greece, Korea, Mediterranean, Russia, Turkey, Türkiye,

How to Identify

Deciduous tree reaching 6m tall. Hardy to UK zone 6. Flowers in June. Hermaphrodite flowers pollinated by midges. Accommodates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils, including very alkaline conditions. Grows in semi-shade or full sun, prefers moist or wet soil but tolerates drought. Withstands strong winds and atmospheric pollution but not maritime exposure.

Nutrition

How to Grow

A very easily grown plant, it prefers a well-drained moisture retentive loamy soil but is not at all fussy. Once established, it succeeds in excessively moist soils and also tolerates drought. It grows well on a chalk soil and also in heavy clay soils. A position in full sun is best when plants are being grown for their fruit, they also succeed in semi-shade though fruit yields and quality will be lower in such a position. Most members of this genus succeed in exposed positions, they also tolerate atmospheric pollution. Cultivated in China for its edible fruit, it is sold in the local markets. This report might be a mistake, probably applying instead to C. pinnatifida Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Seedling trees take from 5 - 8 years before they start bearing fruit, though grafted trees will often flower heavily in their third year. The flowers have a foetid smell somewhat like decaying fish. This attracts midges which are the main means of fertilization. When freshly open, the flowers have more pleasant scent with balsamic undertones. Seedlings should not be left in a seedbed for more than 2 years without being transplanted.

Propagation: Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in autumn in a cold frame. Some seed will germinate the following spring, though most will likely take a further year. Stored seed can be very slow and erratic; it should be warm stratified for 3 months at 15°c, then cold stratified for 3 months at 4°c, and may still take another 18 months to germinate. Scarifying before stratification may help, as may fermenting the seed in its own pulp for a few days. Alternatively, harvest seed green — once the embryo is fully developed but before the seedcoat hardens — and sow immediately in a cold frame for possible spring germination. For small quantities, pot seedlings individually as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on for their first year before planting out in late spring. For larger quantities, sow directly in an outdoor seedbed with protection from mice and seed-eating animals, undercutting roots if plants will remain in the bed for more than two years.

Medicinal Uses

Though no specific research has been conducted on this species, the fruits and flowers of hawthorns are widely recognised in herbal folk medicine as a heart tonic — a use supported by modern research. Both parts exert a hypotensive effect and act as a gentle, direct cardiac tonic, making them particularly useful for weak heart combined with high blood pressure. Prolonged use is required for the treatment to be effective. It is typically prepared as a tea or tincture.

Other Uses

The wood is heavy, hard, tough, and close-grained, making it well suited for tool handles, mallets, and other small wooden items. The plant is also noted for its scent.

Crataegus pentagyna, also called small-flowered black hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to southeastern Europe. Two subspecies are recognized, C. p. subsp. pentagyna and C. p. subsp. pseudomelanocarpa. The fruit are usually black, but are sometimes a handsome purple.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant. It is sold in local markets.

Notes

There are 200 or more Crataegus species.

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