Crataegus crus-galliL.

Cockspur Hawthorncockspur hawthornMontgomery hawthorn

WFO wfo-0001015893 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. a Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-23 / obs. 200171577
Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. b Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 134905850
Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Étienne Lacroix-Carignan
fig. c Étienne Lacroix-Carignan, CC0 1.0 / obs. 151812420
Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. d Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 127933408
Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Cody Stricker
fig. e Cody Stricker, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 90876421
Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Reuven Martin
fig. f Reuven Martin, CC0 1.0 / obs. 90700035
Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Griffin Bray
fig. g Griffin Bray, CC0 1.0 / obs. 89674633
Crataegus crus-galli, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. h Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 90018193

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 35 botanical countries

Regions where Crataegus crus-galli is native: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Northeast, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin AlabamaArkansasConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMarylandMassachusettsMexico NortheastMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriNew JerseyNew YorkNorth CarolinaOklahomaOntarioPennsylvaniaQuébecSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsin DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Crataegus crus-galli, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Northeast MXE
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 120 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Crataegus acutifolia var. insignis (Sarg.) E.J.Palmer
  • Crataegus algens Beadle
  • Crataegus alpestris K.Koch
  • Crataegus angustifolia (Ehrh.) Borkh.
  • Crataegus arborea Beadle
  • Crataegus arborea var. ohioensis (Sarg.) Kruschke
  • Crataegus attenuata Ashe
  • Crataegus barrettiana Sarg.
  • Crataegus bellica Sarg.
  • Crataegus bosciana (Spach) M.Roem.
  • Crataegus bushii Sarg.
  • Crataegus canbyi Sarg.
  • Crataegus cherokeensis Sarg.
  • Crataegus cocksii Sarg.
  • Crataegus coursetiana M.Roem.
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. crus-galli
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. inermis (Lange) Poletiko
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. nana Poletiko
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. oblongata (Sarg.) E.J.Palmer
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. rubens (Sarg.) E.J.Palmer
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. spinulosa Rickett
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. staminea Rickett
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. truncata (Sarg.) E.J.Palmer
  • Crataegus crus-galli f. vulgaris Rickett

and 96 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.