Hawthorn

A bushy tree with distinctive leaves, berries, flowers and thorns!

A more tree-like example:

There are two primary species of Hawthorn in the wood, the Common Hawthorn and the Midland Hawthorn. The leaves of the Common Hawthorn have much deeper lobes, while the Midland has less deep lobes, has edge serrations and tends to be a glossier green. In practice there are significant variations in leaf shape in both species, with considerably different degrees of ‘lobedness’ between trees and even within a tree. This may in part be due to hybridisation between the two species. In the flowering season, the Midland Hawthorn can be distinguished by its having two or more styles, while the Common has just one. Outside the flowering season, many leaf variations can be found showing features of both species.

This is the classic deeply-lobed Common Hawthorn:-

In contrast, this is a ‘pure’ example of Midland Hawthorn:

This flower of the Common Hawthorn shows one style:

A Midland flower with two:

And one with three:

This gallery shows a range of leaf shapes:

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