Crataegus ×rubrocarnea: A Rare Native Hawthorn Worth Knowing About
If you’re a native plant enthusiast always on the lookout for something truly special, you might have stumbled across the name Crataegus ×rubrocarnea. This native hawthorn hybrid is one of those plants that makes you pause and wonder – is this the botanical equivalent of finding a four-leaf clover?
What Makes This Hawthorn Special?
Crataegus ×rubrocarnea is a native tree species that calls the lower 48 states home, though it’s specifically documented in New York. The × in its name tells us something important – this is a hybrid, meaning it’s the offspring of two different hawthorn species that decided to get together and create something new.
As a perennial woody plant, this hawthorn typically grows as a single-stemmed tree reaching heights greater than 13-16 feet, though like many trees, it can sometimes develop a more multi-stemmed, shrub-like form under certain environmental conditions.
Where Does It Grow?
Currently, this particular hawthorn hybrid is documented as growing in New York state. Its limited geographical distribution makes it something of a botanical treasure – not exactly rare enough to be endangered, but certainly not something you’ll find at every garden center.
The Challenge of Growing a Mystery Plant
Here’s where things get interesting (and a bit frustrating for us gardening enthusiasts): there’s remarkably little specific information available about Crataegus ×rubrocarnea’s particular growing requirements, wildlife benefits, or even its exact appearance. This isn’t uncommon with hybrid plants, especially those with limited distribution.
What we can reasonably assume is that this hawthorn would share many characteristics with its parent species – likely producing the classic hawthorn spring flowers followed by small berries in fall, and probably offering some benefits to local wildlife as most hawthorns do.
Should You Plant It?
The honest answer? It’s complicated. While this is a native species that theoretically deserves a place in native plant gardens, the lack of specific cultivation information and its apparent rarity present some challenges:
- Limited availability makes sourcing difficult
- Unknown specific growing requirements mean you’d be gardening by educated guesswork
- No documented information about its ornamental value or wildlife benefits
A Better Alternative?
If you’re drawn to native hawthorns for your landscape, you might consider better-documented native Crataegus species instead. These would give you the same general benefits – spring flowers, fall color, wildlife food – with the advantage of known growing requirements and established cultivation practices.
Popular native hawthorn alternatives include species like Crataegus mexicana (Mexican hawthorn) or Crataegus douglasii (black hawthorn), depending on your region.
The Bottom Line
Crataegus ×rubrocarnea represents one of those fascinating footnotes in the native plant world – a species that exists, that’s native, but that remains largely mysterious to home gardeners. Unless you’re a dedicated collector of rare native plants or a botanical researcher, you’re probably better served by choosing a well-documented native hawthorn species that will reliably provide the beauty and ecological benefits you’re looking for.
Sometimes the most responsible thing we can do as native plant gardeners is to admire the rare and unusual from afar while choosing the well-understood natives that will truly thrive in our landscapes.
