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Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Crataegus marshallii
This little hawthorn is perfectly suited to the small landscape; it's petite and graceful and has enough going on to keep you entertained all year round. The leaves are ruffled, bright green and intricately cut; they look exactly like garden parsley! In spring, the delicate branches are loaded with showy clusters of five-petaled white flowers that attract hummingbirds. The flowers have numerous long white stamens and dark red anthers (an anther is the pollen-producing tip of a stamen). In fall, bunches of shiny, very small, apple-like fruits turn bright lipstick-red. The peeling, colorful bark and delicate, sculpture-like form provide winter interest.
Rosaceae (Rose Family)
A small deciduous tree with toothed, deeply lobed, triangular leaves about two inches long. White spring flowers are borne in clusters and resemble apple blossoms. Glossy pomes, each about a third of an inch long, ripen to red in fall (a pome is a fleshy fruit with a core). Fall leaf color is yellow and scarlet.
15 to 25 feet tall and wide.
Usually multi-trunked, with an open, irregular crown.
Moderate.
Full sun to full shade.
If you want lots of flowers and fruit, plant your parsley hawthorn in full sun. It tolerates drought and poor drainage and isn't at all fussy when it comes to pH levels.
Assets include white spring flowers, lacy leaves, and red fall fruits.
Parsley hawthorn makes a fine little specimen tree. Position it close to a window so you can watch the birds feasting on its bright "berries."
Mockingbirds, cardinals and cedar waxwings eat the fruits, while gray hairstreak caterpillars consume the leaves. Because of its dense branching structure, this is a good nest tree for birds.
Found throughout Georgia in bottomland forests and other moist areas.
Seed requires four months' cold stratification.
Photo and text by Leslie Kimel, Georgia Wildlife Federation
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Parsley Hawthorn