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Pictured: Crataegus viridis — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Rosaceae family

Green Hawthorn (var. viridis) Crataegus viridis var. viridis variety

Native

Green Hawthorn (var. viridis) is a perennial tree native to the lower 48 states. A keystone plant for native insects and the food web.

More about this plant

Crataegus viridis, the green hawthorn or southern thorn, is a species of hawthorn that is native to the southeastern United States. The tree tends to grow to be 5–15 meters tall. Forms vary considerably, and many desirable ornamental forms could be selected from the wild. The cultivar 'Winter King' is a well-known selection. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Tree layer (canopy / understory) — Sits in the tree of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~168 caterpillar species

Crataegus supports ~168 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is an exceptional genus.

Recorded feeding on Crataegus in North America, including:

Abagrotis placida · Red Cutworm Moth Acleris laterana · leafroller moth Acleris nivisellana · Snowy-Shouldered Acleris Acleris variegana · leafroller moth Acrobasis grossbecki · snout moth Acrobasis indigenella · Leaf Crumpler Moth
+ 8 more species →
Acronicta americana · American Dagger Moth Acronicta clarescens · Clear Dagger Moth Acronicta dactylina · Fingered Dagger Acronicta fragilis · Fragile Dagger Moth Acronicta funeralis · Funerary Dagger Acronicta impleta · Yellow-Haired Dagger Acronicta interrupta · Interrupted Dagger Acronicta morula · Ochre Dagger Moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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