The hawthorn is a shrub growing to a height of 3-10 m and sometimes attaining the dimensions of a tree. The bark is smooth and grey, older bark is cracked. One-year shoots arc olive-brown, older twigs grey and spiny. The reddish, round buds are located in the axils of the spines.
This shrub grows in western, central and eastern Europe, its range extending northward to central Scandinavia. (Found in similar situations in southern Germany and the Carpathians is the closely related species C. tomentosa.) It occurs primarily on dry, rocky hillsides; on limestone substrates it may be found even at elevations above 1500 m.
The related C. monogyna is a thorny shrub used for hedges and is a good shelter for songbirds. The pink, red and white double-flowered varieties are often planted in parks and avenues.
The service-berry is a slender shrub with upright branches reaching 1-3 m in height. The stern is covered with blackish bark, the shoots are slender and reddish brown, the buds arc violet-red and narrowly conical, terminating in a point. Emerging shoots are white tomentose.
The whitish flowers, 2.5 cm in diameter, appear at the beginning of May together with the leaves. The edible fruits with their juicy pulp ripen in August, and arc eaten by birds. Inside are 5-10 flat, sickle-shaped seeds. The shrub often produces root suckers.
It requires sunlight but will grow on drier and poorer soils. It occurs from lowland to hilly country and may be damaged by severe frosts. It enriches the soil with nitrogen and in winter is a source of food for hares and deer. Profusely flowering yellow and red varieties are cultivated in gardens. - 15266
This shrub grows in western, central and eastern Europe, its range extending northward to central Scandinavia. (Found in similar situations in southern Germany and the Carpathians is the closely related species C. tomentosa.) It occurs primarily on dry, rocky hillsides; on limestone substrates it may be found even at elevations above 1500 m.
The related C. monogyna is a thorny shrub used for hedges and is a good shelter for songbirds. The pink, red and white double-flowered varieties are often planted in parks and avenues.
The service-berry is a slender shrub with upright branches reaching 1-3 m in height. The stern is covered with blackish bark, the shoots are slender and reddish brown, the buds arc violet-red and narrowly conical, terminating in a point. Emerging shoots are white tomentose.
The whitish flowers, 2.5 cm in diameter, appear at the beginning of May together with the leaves. The edible fruits with their juicy pulp ripen in August, and arc eaten by birds. Inside are 5-10 flat, sickle-shaped seeds. The shrub often produces root suckers.
It requires sunlight but will grow on drier and poorer soils. It occurs from lowland to hilly country and may be damaged by severe frosts. It enriches the soil with nitrogen and in winter is a source of food for hares and deer. Profusely flowering yellow and red varieties are cultivated in gardens. - 15266
