Hawthorn leaves are small and cut at least halfway in to the centre line, into three to seven lobes, each one toothed at its tip.
Native · Up to 15 m
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna · Rosaceae
Also called quickthorn, whitethorn or may
Hawthorn 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.
Often mistaken for blackthorn. How to tell them apart →Know it byLeavesSmall leaves, cut at least halfway in.
BlossomWhite flower heads in May.
BerriesRed berries in loose bunches, into winter.
LeavesSmall leaves, cut at least halfway in.BlossomWhite flower heads in May.BerriesRed berries in loose bunches, into winter.Then check · ThornsIn winter, sharp thorns run along the bare shoots, each with a small brown bud beside its base.
How to identify a hawthorn
In May, once the leaves are out, the tree carries heads of small, white, five-petalled flowers.
From September the small oval berries, called haws, ripen red and hang in loose bunches along the smaller branches. Some stay on into winter.
Learn the hawthorn in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely
Every part, in photographs
Henry Miller, CC BY 4.0
Nick Butcher, CC BY 4.0
Shawn O'Donnell, CC BY 4.0
Andrew Skotnicki, CC BY 4.0When to look
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In leaf
Flowers
Haws
In leaf: February to November · Flowers: April to June · Haws: July to January
Every tree on the calendar · How to identify trees in winter
Where you’ll find it
Hedgerows and scrub above all, and also woodland edges, open woodland, chalk downland and coastal scrub. It is quick to spring up on open and disturbed ground, and common everywhere except on poor sands. It takes most soils, chalk and heavy clay included.
What it’s mistaken for
Hawthorn or blackthorn?Both are thorny hedgerow shrubs with white flowers.Flowers and leaves, and when→
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.Depth of the lobes→
Hawthorn or crab apple?Another thorny tree of old hedges, in white blossom at about the same time, a little earlier.Fruit size→
Hawthorn or field maple?Both are lobed-leaved hedgerow trees.Bare shoot→
Hawthorn or rowan?Both hang white flowers in flat heads and red fruit in autumn.Trunk→
Hawthorn or common whitebeam?Both grow in the same streets and parks, and on chalk, and they flower and fruit at the same time, so from a distance they look alike.Whole tree→
In the app
There’s more of the hawthorn in Treely
- Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
- Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
- A short round each dayUntil you know the hawthorn on sight, from any side
- Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
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: Andrew Skotnicki (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), peter_reynolds (CC0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), cjoynson (CC0), Henry Miller (CC BY 4.0), Nick Butcher (CC BY 4.0), Shawn O'Donnell (CC BY 4.0), empressmoth (CC0), Daniel Cahen (CC BY 4.0), David Sandler (CC BY 4.0), anguspritchard (CC BY 4.0), Jon Mortin (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.