Hawthorn
Crataegus monogynaHawthorn is a dense, thorny shrub or small tree with little, deeply lobed leaves. It is white with blossom from early May and red with haws in autumn.
How to identify hawthorn →
Lookalikes
Hawthorn or Midland hawthorn?
The other native hawthorn, much scarcer, with the same thorns, and haws that look the same from outside. It keeps to old woods and shade, where common hawthorn takes open ground.
The quickest check
The quickest check is the depth of the lobes. Hawthorn: at least halfway to the centre line. Midland hawthorn: less than halfway, the lobes blunt. No leaves on the tree? Check the centre of a flower.
At a glance
| Look at | Hawthorn | Midland hawthorn |
|---|---|---|
| Depth of the lobes | At least halfway to the centre line | Less than halfway, the lobes blunt |
| Centre of a flower | One thread, ringed by red-tipped ones | Two or three threads inside the red ring |
| Inside a haw | One stony pip | Two stones, sometimes three |
Three ways to tell them apart
Depth of the lobesLeaves
Centre of a flowerFlowers
Inside a hawHaws
The two trees
Midland hawthorn
Crataegus laevigataMidland hawthorn is a dense, thorny shrub or low tree with small, shallowly lobed leaves. Its haws hold two or three stones.
How to identify Midland hawthorn →Their other lookalikes
Hawthorn or apple?Quickest check: the outline→
Hawthorn or blackthorn?Quickest check: the flowers and leaves, and when→
Hawthorn or common whitebeam?Quickest check: the outline→
Hawthorn or crab apple?Quickest check: the outline of a leaf→
Hawthorn or field maple?Quickest check: the bare shoot→
Hawthorn or rowan?Quickest check: the whole leaf→
Hawthorn or pear?Quickest check: the outline of a leaf→
In the app
See them side by side in Treely
- Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
- Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
- A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
- The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
Free to download.
Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), cjoynson (CC0), jamie-aa (CC BY 4.0), Henry Miller (CC BY 4.0), Don Loarie (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.