Crataegus azarolus L.
C. azarolus L. var. aronia L., C. aronia (Willd.) Bosc, Mespilus azarolus (L.) All.
Eng.: Azarole, azerole, Mediterranean medlar. Spa.: Acerolo. Fre.: Azérolier. Ara.: Zaarura, za’arur, tefifiha. Tam.: tazaarurt, tafirez, zinebit.
Shrub or small tree, deciduous, thorny, up to 8(10) m in height, irregular in shape, but ± oval-oblong, with extended or extended-erect branches. Trunk well defined, straight or slightly tortuous in the old specimens that grow in good ecological conditions, with brownish-grey bark, fissured. Branches brown-grey, branches of a few years brownish or brown, younger branches brown-whitish covered with a short, white, villous-lanate indumentum. Leaves [(1.5)2.5-4.5(5) × (1)2-4(4.5) cm] alternate, obovate or oval-rhomboid, acute, with cuneiform base, margin with 3-5 short lobes or sometimes very deep (almost to the central vein), entire or with dentate apex or with small obtuse lobules, slightly coriaceous, green on both sides, villous when young, but once adult, glabrous on the upper side and glabrous or glabrescent on the underside. Petiole villous-tomentose, 0.5-1.5 cm long. Stipules with entire margin. Inflorescences terminal on brachyblasts, corymbiform, with villous-tomentose branching. Calyx tomentose, with 5 small triangular sepals, 1.5-2 mm long. Corolla with 5 white petals, glabrous, suborbicular, (4)5-6(7.5) mm long. Stamens numerous (16-22) with purple anthers. Styles 2-3, rarely 1, 4 or 5, free, villous at the base. Fruit a fleshy, subglobose pome, crowned by the persistent calyx, red or reddish-yellow, glabrous. Seeds with (1)2-3(4).
Flowering:
April to May.
Fruiting:
August to October.
Habitat:
Forest and thickets on diverse terrains, in low and medium mountain. In warm or cool environment, from subhumid to hyperhumid bioclimate or as relict on drier mountains.
Distribution:
Central-eastern Mediterranean. In North Africa it is a rare species, although there are isolated stands in E Algeria (central-eastern Tellian Atlas) and N Tunisia (where it reaches to the S to the Tunisian Dorsal and near Susse), further E it reappears in the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula. In Morocco it is cited as cultivated (sometimes subspontaneous); as well as in Libya, where its spontaneous nature is doubtful.
Observations:
This species hybridises with C. monogyna, resulting in C. × ruscinonensis Gren. & Blanc, cited in Algeria; it remains to be seen if it is the same taxon described in the Sinai Peninsula as C. × sinaica Boiss. (Ara.: Za’arour). It differs from C. azarolus in having glabrous or glabrescent leaves on the underside and in glabrous or sparsely hairy young stems. It flowers in spring. This hybrid is also distributed in Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Conservation status:
Relatively common species, it does not seem threatened. In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species it is listed as Least Concern (LC) at global level (Guner, 1998). In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) C. × sinaica is listed as “Endangered”.