Crataegus marshallii Eggl.

Shrub or small tree to 10 m, dbh ~0.2 m. Bark exfoliating and becoming smooth. Branchlets greyish brown, pubescent; thorns slender, straight or slightly recurved, (1–)2–3(–5) cm long. Leaves deciduous, 1.5–3 cm long, ovate to deltoid in outline, both surfaces densely pubescent when young, pubescence gradually eroding to remain on the veins only at maturity, two to eight secondary veins on each side of the midrib, margin with (two to) three to four (to five) deep or shallow lobes on each side of the midrib, lobe margins serrate, apex acute; petiole 1–2 cm long, pubescent; stipules deciduous. Inflorescence pubescent, corymbose with three to eight flowers. Flowers white (rarely pink), 1.2–1.7 cm diameter; hypanthium largely glabrous, sepals narrowly triangular and glandular-serrate, petals elliptic, 0.6–0.8 cm long, stamens 20 with red anthers. Fruit 0.4–0.6 cm long, ellipsoid to spherical, glossy red (rarely dull orange), seeds one to two (to three). Flowering March to April (USA). Phipps 1998. Distribution USA: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, southern Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, southern Missouri, North Carolina, southeast Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia. Habitat Open, wooded areas with wet or well-drained soils, including forest clearings, woodland edges and fence lines. USDA Hardiness Zone 4–5. Conservation status Not evaluated. Illustration Phipps 1998, Phipps et al. 2003; NT285.