Hillside hawthorn is a flat-topped, horizontal branching, deciduous native shrub or small tree in the rose family found in the North Carolina mountain area in open, hardwood and conifer-hardwood forests at lower elevations. This tree will grow in sun to partial shade and prefers moist well-drained soils. It does not tolerate drought well and is often leafless by mid-August during hot summers. The flowers appear in spring and are followed by a yellow to orange pome that is edible and a favorite of bees, wasps, birds and small mammals. The branches are armed with 2-inch thorns although not as many as some hawthorns. Hillside hawthorn are sometimes used as ornamentals and provide many benefits for birds, bees and mammals including food, nesting sites and cover. Insects, disease and other problems: Quite susceptible to rust. Numerous thorns. Fruit drop could be messy.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Horizontal; Rounded
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Obovate; Rhomboidal
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Spirally arranged on long stalks. Pubescent, rhombic-obovate in shape. Apex is blunt or rounded and base is tapering. Lobes 0-2 per side above the middle, margins serrate in distal ¾ of lobes. Undersides paler. Two to four inches long and 0.8 to 2 inches wide.
Flower color
Cream/Tan; White
Flower value
Fragrant
Flower form
Corymb
Flower detail
The numerous flowers are in corymbs, pubescent to nearly glabrous and 0.5 to 0.8 inches wide, with 5 petals. The flowers are white, with 2-5 styles and 20 pink or yellow stamens. Blooms in April-May.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Orange; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Pome
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit detail
Small orange to red pome with 3 to 5 pyrenes that resemble the “stones” in related plums, peaches, etc. Sometimes called the ‘haw’.
Bark color
Light Gray
Bark detail
Smooth and gray bark, fissuring with age.
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Gray/Silver
Stem detail
Bark is thin and gray. Twigs are brown to gray, hairy when young, with many short and stout thorns or spines up to 2.5 inches. The bark of older stems tends to break up into narrow scales.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern Canada south to Georgia, west to the Mississippi.
Distribution
AL, AR, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV
Wildlife value
Important nectar flower for insects; food plant of many moths including the eggar moth; haws provide winter fruit for songbirds. This plant also provides nectar for pollinators. It is a larval host plant for Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax), and Viceroy (Limenitis archippus). Red-spotted Purple and Viceroy rarely use this host plant in North Carolina. Good nesting habitat with thorns providing protection from predators.
Attracts
Bees; Butterflies; Pollinators; Small Mammals; Songbirds
The leaves, berries, and flowers are used in medicines and herbals for cardiovascular health. The wood is strong, tough, heavy, and hard, but has little commercial value.