Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Thornapple

 We have this bush in our side yard just on the edge of the woods.  Far Guy uses the twigs for stems of his wood carved flowers. 

If you ever walked in the woods you would know it if you brushed up against this bush. 


It is about ready to flower.  Note the thorn? 

It is also called Hawthorn or Maythorn ....but we call it Thornapple. 


Here you can see lots of those thorns. They stick out every which way. 

Far Side



19 comments:

Donna said...

I don't think I'd want to fall on that bush...lol
hugs
Donna

Charlotte (MotherOwl) said...

Aww, I had to look up Thornapples. This name seems to be normally used for another flower. If what you have is what is botanically known as Crataegus monogyna or Crataegus laevigata you're lucky, Jelly from the fruits is a delicacy! But yes to thorns, lots and lots of very prickly and strong ones.

Val Ewing said...

LOL! That is my favorite bush-tree...well one of them!

Not so much for the thorns but for the shape of the tree, the blossoms and the fruit that is beautiful in the fall with the colors of the leaves.

:)
I may cut some branches for my winter bouquet in the house this year!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

We have a ton of black walnut trees with thorns. They are a pain in our area.

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Oh yeah, we used to see those all the time when we lived in Wisconsin.

Ed said...

I don't think we have any thornapples this far south. According to Wiki, they are a zone above us though. We do have multiflora rose which is impossible to walk through because of their thousands of sharp thorns.

Sandra said...

Those are some wicked thorns! We don't have these here.

Betsy said...

Yikes! Those are some impressive thorns. I don't remember seeing them here although I think I would soon learn to avoid them.
Blessings,
Betsy

Maebeme said...

Ouch! I don't think I've ever encountered it here, but then again, I'm not that observant.

Terry and Linda said...

Whew! Those are wicked. We have an invasive tree here called Russian Olive and it has torns like that 4-5" long.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Charlotte Mother Owl, Here in Minnesota it is most likely Crataegus chrysocarpa or Fireberry we call it Thornapple. The birds love the fruit in the Fall:)

Charlotte (MotherOwl) said...

I looked up Crataegus chrysocarpa / Firevberry. Very pretty - and just as edible as our European counterparts. It's a fiddly job to make hawthorn jelly, but the taste is so good!

Rita said...

I don't think I've ever seen one. Definitely haven't bumped into one--lol! Glad FarGuy has put them to use and the birds love them. :)

The Furry Gnome said...

Didn't know Hawthorn was good for carving. Lots of it around here.

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

I have one in my yard! I keep trimming it back and warning my mower couple to be careful...it's edged it's way in from the woods. Ouch!

Granny Marigold said...

That plant would make quite an impenetrable fence! No deer or other wildlife would risk those thorns.

Linda Reeder said...

As we were out and about on the island today we noticed that the red Hawthorn trees are blooming. These are domesticated street trees, but they still have thorns.

Dawn said...

I remember seeing these in the woods when we were kids running around there.

Shirley said...

I would love to have a Hawthorn tree nearby- it is such a medicinal tree.