Parsley Hawthorn

Description

Botanical Name:  Crataegus marshallii 

Common Name:  Parsley Hawthorn, Parsleyleaf Hawthorn

Description:  Oh this is a really cool Florida native that can be grown as a shrub or small tree. What makes it cool is the leaves are very unusually shaped: they look like parsley leaves! Grow Parsley Hawthorne in sun, part sun, or part shade and watch the beautiful white flowers bloom in the Spring. The red haws (fruit) show up in the Fall. Usually grows 20-25′ tall and wide, is deciduous, has thorns, and super cool peeling bark. Great as an understory tree/shrub. You need this tree in your garden.

The fruit is edible raw or used for jams and jellies. The seeds have cyanide precursors in them, so don’t eat them.

Native habitat is moist sites, riverine forests, moist wooded slopes such as ravines and bluffs, stream banks in loamy or sandy soils. Acidic to circum-neutral pH. Has a slow growth rate of 1 -2 feet per year.

Is a host plant for hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe), striped hairstreak butterfly(Satyrium liparops), and blinded sphinx moth (Paonias excaecata). The flowers provide nectar for the butterflies and other pollinators, and has special value to native bees.

Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray.

This plant in 3-gallon containers is 2 – 4 feet tall.

This plant in 7-gallon containers is 4 – 6 feet tall.

Plant Lore:  Common name refers to the deeply cut foliage that looks similar to parsley. Fruit made into jellies, jams, or eaten raw. Tonics and teas from leaves used to treat heart diseases and high blood pressure.

Florida Hardiness Zones 8 – 9