What's this plant?: SOLVED: Washington tree with tiny apple-like fruit

Replies: 13 Views: 154

Author	Comment
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 01:41 PM	I've seen this type of tree in various places and in various sizes throughout Vancouver, Washington, and I'm curious about its ID. This specimen is about 25 feet tall. The most interesting feature is the bright red fruit all over it. At a distance the fruit look like Pyracantha berries, but close up they're seen to be a little larger, maybe twice that size. The fruit look like tiny apples. Could this be a crab apple? The leaves look vaguely like elm. Alder? Elderberry? I just don't know the plants of this area, and I don't know genera like that, either. View Larger
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 01:43 PM	Here's the tree in full, in the parking lot. (A typical rainy day in Washington state.) View Larger
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 01:44 PM	Here's a slightly more distant view of the fruit, a photo that shows the leaf shape fairly well. View Larger
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 01:46 PM	And a slightly more distant shot, which shows that the fruit are almost evenly distributed across the outer layer of the tree. View Larger
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 01:48 PM	And the trunk. Ho-hum. Not very interesting. View Larger
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 01:51 PM	A view of the underside of the branches, which shows that the leaves form a fairly dense cover around the outer edges of the tree. View Larger
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 01:53 PM	Here's the last of the photos I took that day of this specimen. Most of my close-up pics of the fruit turned out blurred. View Larger
themoonhowl Prairieville, LA (Zone 9a) November 09, 2009 02:30 PM	Possibly a crab apple tree? Not sure if the trunks get that large, but know there are a number of Malus genus growing in WA state http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1809/eb1809.html
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 09, 2009 03:04 PM	Yes, I forgot to mention crab apple as a possibility. So far the pics I've seen online of crab apples are as I remember them, though: with fruit larger than these berry-sized fruit. But it's still a possibility.
Resin Northumberland United Kingdom (Zone 9a) November 09, 2009 03:04 PM	Hawthorn of some sort, maybe Crataegus prunifolia but lots of similar species. Resin
Malus2006 Coon Rapids, MN (Zone 4a) November 09, 2009 09:11 PM	I agree it's hawthorne - the shapes of the leaves, the different toothing, and the appearance of the fruits.
Fruticosa Midway City, CA November 10, 2009 03:23 PM	Thanks for the ID. Having the genus alone is enough for me to consider this solved, since I had little idea and I'm completely unfamiliar with hawthorne. Some of the specimens I'm seeing around here are very conical, like Christmas trees, and others are like bushes, but like Resin said, they could be different but similar species.
Resin Northumberland United Kingdom (Zone 9a) November 10, 2009 06:38 PM	Definitely not a Hawthorne, in particular, not a Nathaniel Hawthorne . . . just a Hawthorn . . . ;-) Resin
steadycam3 Houston, TX November 13, 2009 04:05 AM	In Louisiana we have something called a Mayhaw which I surmise stands for Hawthorn that blooms or fruits in May. The fruits look like tiny apples, are mostly seed but make the most fantastic jelly.