Downy Hawthorn - Crataegus mollis (Torr. & Gray) Scheele
Rosaceae - Rose Family / Range: VA, TN, SD and S. Ontario / USDA Hardiness Zone: 5
Downy Hawthorn Tree photographed at The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois,

 

Downy Hawthorn - Crataegus mollis
Downy Hawthorn - Crataegus mollis. This tree is over 100 years old.

Downy Hawthorn Foliage
Leaves detail; young leaves and twigs are covered with dense white hair, hence the common name.

Downy Hawthorn Bark
Bark Detail, with 17-year periodic cicada shed exoskeletons from 2007 emergence.

Flat clusters of small, creamy white flowers in spring; flowers have an unpleasant scent; bright red fruit late summer and early autumn; spring foliage is very downy; fall color is yellow to bronze. Does well in full sun; moist, well-drained soil, but tolerant of drought; pH adaptable. This species has fewer thorns than Cockspur Hawthorn, and is sometimes planted as an ornamental for the large white flowers in the spring and crimson fruit in the fall.