Crataegus azarolus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Rosales

Familia: Rosaceae
Subfamilia: Amygdaloideae
Tribus: Maleae
Subtribus: Malinae
Genus: Crataegus
Species: Crataegus azarolus
Varietates: C. a. var. aronia – C. a. var. assadii – C. a. var. azarolus – C. a. var. chlorocarpa – C. a. var. dentata – C. a. var. minuta – C. a. var. senobaaensis – C. a. var. sharania
Name

Crataegus azarolus L., Sp. Pl.: 477 (1753).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Pyrus azarolus (L.) Scop., Fl. Carniol., ed. 2, 1: 347 (1771).
Mespilus azarolus (L.) All., Fl. Pedem. 2: 141 (1785).
Oxyacantha azarolus (L.) Bubani, Fl. Pyren. 2: 578 (1899).
Heterotypic
Lazarolus oxyacanthoides Borkh., Arch. Bot. (Leipzig) 1(3): 88 (1798).

References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 477. Reference page.

Additional references

Meikle, R.D. 1966. Crataegus. Pp. 115–118 in Townsend, C.C. & Guest, E.R. (eds.), Flora of Iraq. Volume Two [Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Rosaceae]. 184 pp. Ministry of Agriculture & Agrarian Reform, Baghdad. Reference page.
Meikle, R.D. 1977. Flora of Cyprus. Volume One (Pinaceae to Theligonaceae). XII, 832 pp. Bentham-Moxon Trust & Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London 1977. ISBN 0-9504876-3-5 Reference page.
Christensen, K.I. 1992. Revision of Crataegus sect. Crataegus and nothosect. Crataeguineae (Rosaceae-Maloideae) in the Old World. Systematic Botany Monographs 35: 1–199. JSTORPaywall PDF: Reference page.
Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.) 2012. Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul. ISBN 978-605-60425-7-7. Online edition. Reference page.
Kurtto, A., Sennikov, A.N. & Lampinen, R. (eds.) 2013. Atlas Florae Europaeae. Distribution of vascular plants in Europe. 16. Cydonia to Prunus, excl. Sorbus. 168 pp. The Committee for Mapping the Flora of Europe & Societas Biologica Fennica Vanamo. Helsinki. ISBN 978-951-9108-17-9 Reference page.
Dönmez, A.A. & Özderin, S. 2019. Additional contributions to taxonomy, nomenclature and biogeography of the Turkish Crataegus (Rosaceae) taxa. PhytoKeys 122: 1–13. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.122.33002Open access Reference page.

Links

USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Crataegus azarolus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.
Hassler, M. 2020. Crataegus azarolus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Jan 30. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Crataegus azarolus in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 January 30. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Crataegus azarolus. Published online. Accessed: 30 Jan 2020.

Vernacular names
English: azarole
italiano: Azzaruolo
sardu: Lazarola
українська: Глід плодовий

Crataegus azarolus is a species of hawthorn known by the common names azarole, azerole, and Mediterranean medlar. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin and is a common plant there, growing on sites comparable to those the European common hawthorn grows on. In the Arab countries it is the most common hawthorn species. When growing in the wild, the azerole bears plentiful crops of haw fruits, which are similar to the haws of the European common hawthorn, but more plump.

C. azarolus is often divided into subspecies or varieties, for example Christensen in his monograph[2] uses four varieties:

C. azarolus var. azarolus has orange fruit.
C. azarolus var. aronia L., has yellowish fruit often with some red tinges
C. azarolus var. chlorocarpa (Moris) K.I.Chr. has yellowish fruit
C. azarolus var. pontica (K.Koch) K.I.Chr. has yellowish or orange fruit

C. azarolus has been used historically for a number of medicinal purposes.[3]

References

Plants for a Future PFAF (page 1)
Christensen, Knud Ib (1992). Revision of Crataegus sect. Crataegus and nothosect. Crataeguineae (Rosaceae-Maloideae) in the Old World. American Society of Plant Taxonomists. ISBN 978-0-912861-35-7.

Ljubuncic, Predrag; Portnaya, Irina; Cogan, Uri; Azaizeh, Hassan; Bomzon, Arieh (2005). "Antioxidant activity of Crataegus aronia aqueous extract used in traditional Arab medicine in Israel". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 101 (1): 153–161. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.04.024. PMID 15970411.

Further reading
Hadjimitsi, E.; I. Zabetakis (2005). "The aroma of jam prepared from fruits of mosphilla (Crataegus azarolus)". Flavour and Fragrance Journal. 20 (5): 507–511. doi:10.1002/ffj.1476.
Phipps, J.B.; O’Kennon, R.J.; Lance, R.W. (2003). Hawthorns and medlars. Cambridge, U.K.: Royal Horticultural Society. ISBN 978-0881925913.

Plants of Cyprus