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In red and black hawthorns, the difference lies in the species and color of the fruits. The berries may not even be overtly black. Often, the word "black" refers to just a darker color of the skin, which still remains red. In the case of hawthorn, both are true. This genus includes plants with black, burgundy and red berries.
Chokeberry varieties
If you approach from the point of view of a biologist, hawthorn varieties have no varieties at all. There are cultivated forms that differ from wild relatives in the size of the fruits. All other signs are the same. The "black" varieties were even less "lucky". They don't even have cultivated forms. Therefore, we cannot talk about varieties. But there are many species of hawthorn with black or very dark red fruits in the genus of these trees. Some are very rare, others grow wild in the Americas. In Eurasia, there are 19 varieties with black fruits. Not all of them are medicinal. Dzungarian was described only by one cultivated tree of unknown origin. Therefore, it is not even clear whether such a species really exists or is it a random hybrid.
Dzungarian hawthorn Crataegus × dsungarica
On the territory of Russia, 4 species of hawthorns with black berries grow:
- five-pistillate (C. pentagyna);
- Caucasian (C. caucasica);
- green meat (C. chlorosárca);
- Maximovich (C. maximowiczii).
In Central Asia, the Songar black hawthorn (Crataegus songarica) grows, and in the European part of Eurasia, the black chokeberry bush is simply and unpretentiously called black (C. nigra).
Five-papillary
The same plant is considered to be Crimean. It has several additional Russian-language names:
- Black-fruited;
- Colchis;
- Five-column;
- Klokov's hawthorn.
Although this variety of black hawthorn is often called Crimean, in fact, it is distributed throughout Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Western Asia and the Balkan Peninsula. Growing places - forest edges. In the Caucasus, it grows in the middle forest zone.
The tree is medium-sized. The usual height is 3-8 m. It can grow up to 12 m. The bark of old branches is gray. The spines are short and sparse. The upper side of the leaves is shiny dark green. Below - dimmer, pubescent.
Inflorescences up to 10 cm in diameter, with many small flowers. The petals are white. Blooms in May-June. Fruits are black, with an average diameter of 1 cm. The color of the skin can be purple-black with a bluish bloom. There is little pulp, since the species is not cultivated. The seed in each "apple" is 3-5. Fruiting in August-September.
Hybrid drupes are darker in color than common red hawthorn. "Ebony" wood is often used for decorative purposes. There is no reliable information about the healing qualities of black hawthorn, but hybrids can be used for medical purposes.
2 hybrids are cultivated on Russian territory:
- Lambert's hawthorn (C. lambertiana) - a hybrid of the five-papillary C. pentagyna with the blood-red C. sanguinea;
- winter (C. hiemalis) - hybrid with hawthorn Rooster spur (C. crus-galli).
For treatment, Lambert hawthorn berries are used. It is a dark red variety.
Caucasian
Endemic to Transcaucasia. Grows on rocky slopes among other shrubs. The shape of this plant is a bush 2-3 m high.Sometimes it reaches 5 mIf the bush has grown into a tree-like shape, it can be up to 7 m high. The branches are dark brown, there are no thorns.
The foliage is deep green, lighter below. Leaves are ovoid, dull. The size of the upper leaves is 6x6.5 cm. Inflorescences are equal in size to the leaves and consist of 5-15 flowers. Blooms in May. Drupes 10-13 cm in size. The color at technical maturity is dark brown. Ripe berries are black-purple in color with light specks. The pulp is yellow. Fruiting begins in October.
Green meat
An Asian variety, whose range covers Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Primorye and Japan. Grows on forest edges and dry river terraces. There are single trees, a maximum of 2-3 plants.
Height up to 6 m. The bark is gray or yellowish brown. Young shoots are dark purple. The length of the spines is up to 1.5 cm.
The diameter of the inflorescences is 2.5-6 cm. Flowering time is late May-early June. Fruits are round in shape with a diameter of up to 1 cm. In a mature state, the skin is black with a waxy bloom. The pulp is greenish. In an immature state, drupes are red. There are 4-5 seeds in the "apple". Fruiting: August-September.
Trees are used in landscaping to decorate the garden. But the green-meat variety is used much less often than the European black hawthorn (Crataegus nigra) replacing it.
Hawthorn Maximovich
Grows in the form of a tree or shrub. Habitat: Eastern Siberia and the Far East. It can grow along river beds, on flooded meadows, forest edges and dry mountain slopes. Grows in solitary trees. Prefers oak-deciduous forests.
Height up to 7 m. The bark is dark brown or brown-gray. Purple thorns are rare, but they can be strong and up to 3.5 cm long.
Leaves are ovoid, up to 13 cm long, up to 10 cm wide. The diameter of the inflorescences is 5 cm. The flowers with white petals are 1.5 cm in diameter. Flowering May-June.
Fruits are round, up to 1 cm in diameter. Unripe hairy. When ripe, the pile falls off. Fruiting from August to September.
Black shrub is called conditionally. The fruits are dark red in color. In this case, clearly expressed freedom of treatment with the designation of colors. In the photo of Maksimovich hawthorn, not black, but red fruits are visible.
What is the difference between black hawthorn and red
The classification of hawthorn is very difficult due to the fact that different breeds easily hybridize without human assistance. Accordingly, the taste characteristics of red and black berries can differ significantly even with the same skin color. Outwardly, the berries of black and red species differ only in the color of the skin. There may be differences in the size of the fruit. But the size does not depend on the color of the skin, but on the breed of the plant.
There are also no differences in winter hardiness and drought resistance in these plants, if their ranges overlap. One can definitely say something only about endemic species. For example, about the Caucasian. This plant does not have enough cold resistance to be grown in the Siberian region.
When planting bushes and trees in the garden, you need to take into account their natural habitat. For decorative purposes, you can plant rocks with red and black fruits originating from the same region.
When grown, none of the species also causes problems. Both "red" and "black" breeds reproduce well by seeds, cuttings and layering. The seed method is very time consuming. It is easier to propagate representatives of the genus by cuttings.
What is the difference between black hawthorn and red: a comparison of useful properties
There have been no special studies regarding the medicinal properties of black hawthorn in comparison with red. You can find recommendations to use only the five-pistillate species as a remedy. But both red and black hawthorns are moderately poisonous.
No superiority of black over red or vice versa was noted.We can only assume that black fruits better relieve inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and improve intestinal function due to the higher content of plant pigments of anthocyanins in the peel. But red berries also contain anthocyanins, albeit in smaller quantities.
What can be cooked from black hawthorn
You can cook everything from black berries that is made from red ones:
- jam;
- tinctures;
- decoctions;
- liqueurs;
- marshmallow;
- candy;
- toppings for pies;
- other.
You can also eat it fresh. The main thing is not to overdo it with the dose. If you want fruit and berry blanks, it is better to use elderberry - a black berry that looks like a hawthorn even externally. This plant has long been used as a common food crop. Not only preparations are made from it, but also juices, which can be consumed without restrictions.
Conclusion
Hawthorn is red and black: there is no difference except for the color of the berries. The differences between plants are so negligible that their classification can be revised. Hybridization as easy as in plants of this genus may indicate that these are actually only subspecies.
