PNW Native, ranges from southeastern Alaska into northern California. Grows from tall shrub to small tree up to 10 m / 25 ft tall. Covered in large, prominent thorns. Leaves are thick, leathery, deciduous, multilobed with saw-toothed margins and ovate, generally 3 – 6 cm / 1.5 – 2.5 in. The fruits and flowers form terminal clusters. The flowers are small and white and the berries are blackish-purplish-brown. (PM)
Black hawthorn is most utilized as cover and habitat by animals. Thickets are heavily used by various species of birds, and provides them with nesting grounds, thermal cover, and hiding spots. Magpies and thrushes appreciate the interwoven, thick branches of black hawthorn, and black-billed magpies will primarily build their nests in the crowns of hawthorn thickets. Bird use is highest during nesting. Mice and voles were also found inhabiting the thickets. (H) The thick and densely-woven black hawthorn thickets provide excellent habitat for small wildlife. A 1979 study found that in a thicket of Oregon hawthorn, there were an estimated 280-320 animals; around four out of five at any point were mountain voles. (H)
Black hawthorn widely grows from low to middle elevations in streamsides, shorelines, coastal bluffs, and other moist, open areas. It likes riparian environments, ecotones, and disturbed ecosystems.
Black hawthorn berries were eaten in the summer by the Nuxalk (H) and kneaded and made into cakes eaten as a winter food. They were pounded before processing which aided in pulverizing its hard seeds. The berries were considered second-tier fruit by most tribes. The wood was used for digging sticks, tool handles, and fishhooks. The Okanogan used the ripening of black hawthorn berries in valleys as a phenological indicator for the ripening of mountain huckleberries, which helped them time their harvesting of the more valuable huckleberries. The Halqemeylem used black hawthorn charcoal as face paint for their ceremonial winter dances. (Turner) The hard wood of black hawthorn was fashioned into tool handles and other implements, and the thorns were used to tweeze splinters, pierce ears, lance blisters, and even were placed on herring-catching rakes. Bark of black hawthorn was made into tea used as a blood thinner, heart strengthener, anti-swelling agent, and treatment for sexually-transmitted infections. This tea was also used in steam baths. (PM)
Black hawthorn is valued for its erosion resistance, soil/streambank stabilization, and natural hedge-like barriers. Transplanted stock tends to be used for restoration plantings due to the difficulty of getting a seedling to successfully establish itself. (H)
[1] Habeck, R. J. 1991. Crataegus douglasii. In: Fire Effects Information System,. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/cradou/all.html.
