CRATAEGUS AZAROLUS var. ARONIA
Common Names:- Mediterranean medlar
Homotypic Synonyms:- Crataegus chrysoclada, Crataegus xruscinonensis
var. aronioides.
Meaning:- Crataegus (Gr) Strong. A name used by Greek philosopher
Theophrastus for the hawthorn's timber.
Azarolus The Italian vernacular name.
Aronia A derivative name from Aria.
General description:- Shrub or small tree up to 10 m; twigs covered with short,
dense, matted hairs, blackish after the fall of the hairs; spines few.
Leaves:-
1) 30-50 x 25-40 mm, rhombic to obovate-oblong, cuneate, coriaceous, tomentose
on both surfaces;
a) lobes, 3(-5), subobtuse, entire, the sinuses less deep.
2) Stipules, falcate. margins serrate.
Flowers:-
1) 15-20 mm. diam.
2) Hypanthium and pedicels densely tomentose.
3) Sepals, shortly acuminate.
4) Styles, 1-2(-3); rarely connate.
Fruit:-
1) 20-25 mm, subglobose, brick-red to yellowish-orange, orange-red or yellow.
2) Pyrenes, 1-3
Key features:-
1) Leaves, with 3(-5) subobtuse, lobes, entire.
2) Styles, 1-2
Habitat:- Olive groves, vineyards, roadsides, hedges, rocky places in dry open
shrubby vegetation , on various substrates. 100-650 m.
Distribution:- Restricted distribution in the Aegean. - Widespread in the
Mediterranean region and SW Asia. On Crete scattered around the three main
massifs.
Flowering time:- Mar-May.
Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis