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Crataegus Crus-gali ???

scandia
13 years ago

Hello All: Trying to identify a tree...I have a lot of trees growing on my property, in the wild part,that have leaves like a Bradford Pear: I thought they were Bradford Pears UNTIL I painfully discovered they have thorns..Similar to my Washington Hawthorn..But the leaves are exactly like Bradford Pear leaves....I searched internet pictures to find the Cockspur Hawthorn is the closest...

My Washington Hawthorn is not mature enough to have spread yet..It is not old enough to get berries yet..

Would it be normal for the cockspur to be growing in Northern Alabama in the wild?

Is there any other tree that has leaves like a Bradford Pear but has Thorns like a Hawthorne, that it might be??

I would put up a picture BUT I don't know how...

Help please

Comments (8)

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    13 years ago

    Bradford pears and their relatives can absolutely have wicked thorns. I'm guessing that these trees, which you have long considered Bradfords (as I recall from the past) ARE just that....thorny Bradfords, or one of the other Calleryana pears.

    Seedling grown 'Bradfords' are almost guaranteed to be very thorny, but the grafted trees can revert, too.

  • lucky_p
    13 years ago

    I'm betting on seedling callery pear. Thorny as heck. Invasive.
    C.crus-galli is smaller, slower-growing, and leaves don't look exactly like the callery pear. Thorns tend to be a little more slender than those I typically see on the seedling callery pears.

    On trips back home to visit family just north of Montgomery, I see 'volunteer' callery seedlings everywhere along the Interstate - and sometimes, particularly at interstate exits - and on the northern bypass around Mtgy, there are expanses of 'pear forest', punctuated only by the occasional mimosa/silktree.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Crataegus crus-galli

  • scandia
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the link lucky p; with the good picture of the Crataegus crus-galli... :0(( the trees I have are not that..

    I want to say S**T

    Thank You Rhizo & lucky; So this is an undesirable invasive non native tree? I am considering cutting them down and poisoning the stumps after reading about them..

    S**T again...lol

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    13 years ago

    I'm all for getting rid of them! In the spring, when they are in bloom, you can see the dense thickets of these things all over the place. Nasty trees.

  • scandia
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I agree: I do not want them interfering with my native trees. Have my bottle of stump killer a chain saw and a clippers (for the little ones) Going to kill ALL the invaders today..THANKS

  • scandia
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    SOO as I was removing all the callery pear I was trying to figure out why all of a sudden, there are so many..and realized that one of my neighbor has them all over in his field..So pretty much I will be removing them as long as I live..

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    13 years ago

    I feel for you, believe me. Your scenario is a perfect example of what happens when we allow these invasive species to take over....or even plant them on purpose! So many people think that what they do in their own yard is their private business. Your situation explains why, sometimes, it isn't.

    I wish more property owners would educate themselves as you have, and try not to add to the terrible problem of invasive plant species.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Invasive Plants of Alabama

  • scandia
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the link Rhizo.....I had 2 Bradford pears..well 1 bradford pear and 1 cleveland special..When we moved here. Took them down..But 1 neighbor has 3 and another had HUGE old one's that he took down this Summer. Still the invasion has taken hold in my back neighbors field..I planted red buds, and Dogwoods that I grew from seed near the places where I took down the callery pears. That way I have spring bloomers that are native.

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