Native Plant of the Month: Parsley Hawthorn, Crataegus marshallii

This beautiful perennial grows to about 25 feet and forms a small tree or shrub. This plant loves sun and part shade and moist to well-drained soil conditions. The delicate white blooms form from March through May followed by small red berries. This plant has thorns which could be a problem around children when the plant is small, but these thorns provide nesting cover for songbirds. The blooms are enjoyed by bees and butterflies sipping nectar. Birds and mammals love the fruit. It is a larval host plant for Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, Red-spotted Purple, Limenitis arthemis astyanax, and Viceroy, Limenitis archippus.

To germinate Crataegus marshallii seeds, collect them in the fall, remove the pulp, and soak them for 3 days in a small amount of water at room temperature. Cold stratify the seeds by storing them in moist sand or vermiculite in the refrigerator for three to four months. For cuttings, cut 10” long sections of stem in late spring or early summer. Remove the leaves from the bottoms 4 inches and dip in rooting hormone. Place the stem in soil covering the bottom 4 inches. Keep the soil moist and place the cutting in a shady location. It may take up to a month for roots to form. -Louise Prejean

Photo credit:

Brundage, Stephanie; https://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=181642