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In red and black hawthorn, the difference lies in the species and color of the fruit. The berries may not even be outright black. Often the word “black” refers to just the darker color of the skin, which still remains red. In the case of hawthorn, both are true. This genus includes plants with black, burgundy and red berries.
Varieties of chokeberry
If we approach it from the point of view of a biologist, hawthorn has no varieties at all. There are domesticated forms that differ from wild relatives in the size of the fruit. All other signs are the same. The “black” varieties are even less lucky. They don't even have cultivated forms. Therefore, we cannot talk about varieties. But there are many species of hawthorn with black or very dark red fruits in the genus of these trees. Some are very rare, others grow wild in the Americas. There are 19 black-fruited varieties in Eurasia. Not all of them have medicinal value. Dzungarian was described only from one cultivated tree of unknown origin.Therefore, it is not even clear whether such a species really exists or is it a random hybrid.
Dzungarian hawthorn Crataegus ×dsungarica
There are 4 types of hawthorns with black berries growing in Russia:
- pentagyna (C. pentagyna);
- Caucasian (C. caucasica);
- green meat (C. chlorosarca);
- Maksimowiczii (C. maximowiczii).
In Central Asia, the Songhar black hawthorn (Crataegus songarica) grows, and in the European part of Eurasia, the chokeberry bush is simply and unpretentiously called black (C. nigra).
Pentacled
The same plant is considered Crimean. It has several additional Russian-language names:
- Chokeberry;
- Colchis;
- Five-column;
- Hawthorn Klokov.
Although this variety of black hawthorn is often called Crimean, in fact it is distributed throughout Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Western Asia and the Balkan Peninsula. Places of growth - forest edges. In the Caucasus it grows in the middle forest zone.
The tree is medium-sized. The usual height is 3-8 m. It can grow up to 12 m. The bark of old branches is gray. The spines are short and sparse. The upper side of the leaves is shiny dark green. Below - duller, pubescent.
Inflorescences up to 10 cm in diameter, with many small flowers. The petals are white. Blooms in May-June. The fruits are black, with an average diameter of 1 cm. The color of the skin can be purple-black with a bluish tinge. There is little pulp, since the species is not cultivated. There are 3-5 seeds in each “apple”. Fruits in August-September.
Hybrid drupes are darker in color than regular red hawthorn. “Ebony” wood is often used for decorative purposes.There is no reliable information about the healing qualities of black hawthorn, but hybrids can be used for medicinal purposes.
There are 2 hybrids cultivated on Russian territory:
- Lambert's hawthorn (C. lambertiana) – a hybrid of the pentapalous C. pentagyna with the blood-red C. sanguinea;
- winter (C. hiemalis) – a hybrid with Cockspur hawthorn (C. crus-galli).
Lambert's hawthorn berries are used for treatment. This is a dark red variety.
Caucasian
Endemic to Transcaucasia. Grows on rocky slopes among other shrubs. The form of this plant is a bush 2-3 m high. Sometimes it reaches 5 m. If the bush has grown into a tree-like form, it can be up to 7 m high. The branches are dark brown, there are no thorns.
The foliage is rich green, lighter underneath. The leaves are ovate, dull. The size of the upper leaves is 6x6.5 cm. The inflorescences are equal in size to the leaves and consist of 5-15 flowers. Blooms in May. The drupes are 10-13 cm in size. The color at technical maturity is dark brown. Ripe berries are black and purple with light specks. The pulp is yellow. Fruiting begins in October.
Green-meat
An Asian variety whose range covers Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Primorye and Japan. Grows on forest edges and dry river terraces. There are single trees, a maximum of 2-3 plants.
Height up to 6 m. Bark gray or yellowish-brown. Young shoots are dark purple. The length of the spines is up to 1.5 cm.
The diameter of the inflorescences is 2.5-6 cm. Flowering time is late May-early June. The fruits are round in shape with a diameter of up to 1 cm. When ripe, the color of the skin is black with a waxy coating. The flesh is greenish. When unripe, the drupes are red. There are 4-5 seeds in an apple. Fruiting: August-September.
Trees are used in landscape design to decorate the garden.But the green meat variety is used much less frequently than the European black hawthorn (Crataegus nigra) that replaces it.
Hawthorn Maksimovich
Grows in the form of a tree or shrub. Range: Eastern Siberia and the Far East. Able to grow along river beds, in flooded meadows, forest edges and dry mountain slopes. Grows as single trees. Prefers oak-broadleaf forests.
Height up to 7 m. Bark dark brown or brownish-gray. Purple spines are rare, but they can be strong and up to 3.5 cm long.
The leaves are ovate, up to 13 cm long, up to 10 cm wide. The diameter of the inflorescences is 5 cm. The flowers have white petals with a diameter of 1.5 cm. Flowering May-June.
The fruits are round, up to 1 cm in diameter. Unripe hairy. When ripe, the pile falls off. Fruiting from August to September.
The black shrub is conventionally called. The fruits are dark red. In this case, there is clearly expressed free use of the designation of colors. In the photo of Maksimovich's hawthorn, not black, but red fruits are visible.
What is the difference between chokeberry and red hawthorn?
Classification of hawthorn is very difficult due to the fact that different species easily hybridize without human help. Accordingly, the taste characteristics of red and black berries can differ significantly even with the same skin color. Externally, the berries of black and red varieties differ only in the color of the skin. There may be differences in fruit size. But the size does not depend on the color of the skin, but on the breed of the plant.
These plants also have no differences in winter hardiness and drought resistance if their habitats intersect. One can definitely say something only about endemic species. For example, about the Caucasian.This plant is not cold hardy enough to be grown in the Siberian region.
When planting bushes and trees in the garden, you need to take into account their natural habitat. For decoration, you can plant species with red and black fruits originating from the same region.
Neither species causes problems when grown. Both “red” and “black” breeds reproduce well by seeds, cuttings and layering. The seed method takes a very long time. It is easier to propagate representatives of the genus by cuttings.
What is the difference between black hawthorn and red one: comparison of beneficial properties
There have been no special studies regarding the medicinal properties of black hawthorn compared to red hawthorn. You can find recommendations to use only the pentapistillate species as a remedy. But both red and black hawthorns are moderately poisonous.
No superiority of black over red or vice versa was noted. One can only assume that black fruits better relieve inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and improve intestinal function due to the higher content of plant pigments anthocyanins in the peel. But red berries also contain anthocyanins, although in smaller quantities.
What can be prepared from black hawthorn
From black berries you can cook everything that is made from red ones:
- jam;
- tinctures;
- decoctions;
- liqueurs;
- marshmallow;
- candies;
- pie fillings;
- other.
Can also be eaten fresh. The main thing is not to overdo the dose. If you want fruit and berry preparations, it is better to use elderberry - a black berry that even looks like hawthorn in appearance. This plant has long been used as a common food crop.Not only preparations are made from it, but also juices that can be consumed without restrictions.
Conclusion
Red and black hawthorn: there is no difference unless you take into account the color of the berries. The differences between plants are so slight that their classification can be revised. Hybridization as easy as in plants of this genus may indicate that they are in fact only subspecies.
