Crataegus (/krəˈtiːɡəs/[2]), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn,[3] thornapple,[4] May-tree,[5] whitethorn,[5] or hawberry, is a genus of several hundred species of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae,[6] native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America. The name “hawthorn” was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe, especially the common hawthorn C. monogyna, and the unmodified name is often so used in Britain and Ireland. The name is now also applied to the entire genus and to the related Asian genus Rhaphiolepis.
The generic epithet, Crataegus, is derived from the Greek kratos “strength” because of the great strength of the wood and akis “sharp”, referring to the thorns of some species.[7] The name haw, originally an Old English term for hedge (from the Anglo-Saxon term haguthorn, “a fence with thorns”),[8] also applies to the fruit.[9]
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