Wood: "Crataegus" is derived
from the Greek word for strength. The wood is tough, hard, heavy, close-grained
and diffuse-porous. Although trees are too small 
and crooked to
be of commercial value to the timber industry, the wood is sometimes used
for tool handles, canes, small turned objects and fuel.
Wildlife: The fruits are not used by wildlife as much as we might expect. Only a few species of birds like the fruits and so they remain ornamental for a long period of time. Pheasants, cedar waxwings, robins, fox squirrels, raccoons, squirrels and skunks feed on the fruit. Birds nest in the trees, taking advantage of the thick foliage and thorniness. Deer browse the young twigs and leaves.
Horticulture: Hawthorns are frequently used in landscaping for their ornamental habit and showy flowers and fruits. The downy hawthorn (C. mollis), our most common native species, is discussed elsewhere in this booklet. The cockspur hawthorn (C. crus-galli) is the specimen indicated on the map. It is a native of Iowa and grows to 25 feet tall with white flowers, red fruits and long thorns. It is susceptible to cedar hawthorn leaf rust and leaf blotch miner. The dotted hawthorn (C. punctata) is a horizontally-branching Iowa native with red to yellow fruits and white flowers, growing to 25 feet tall. The Washington hawthorn (C. phaenopyrum), though hardy to Iowa, is native to the southeastern US. The English hawthorn (C. oxycantha) and the single-seed hawthorn (C. monogyna) are two Eurasian species often planted as ornamentals in Iowa.
