Crataegus laevigata (Midland hawthorn, "Seiyosanzashi")

Japanese name: セイヨウサンザシ （西洋山樝子）
Scientific name: Crataegus laevigata

[Overview]
A large deciduous shrub or small tree up to 8 m tall.
The thorns are about 1 cm long.
The leaves are alternate, 2–6 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, pinnately cut in 2–3 pairs, and the degree of cutting varies.
The upper surface of the leaf is glossy, and the underside has soft hairs along the veins.
The leaf margins are serrated.
Corymbs at the branch tips bear 6–12 white, 5-petaled flowers.
The flowers are white or pale pink, 5-petaled, about 2 cm across, and the petals are nearly round with a slightly clawed base.
There are 20 stamens.
The fruit is a slightly flattened sphere 0.6–1 cm in diameter that ripens red, with a slightly depressed tip where the calyx remains.

[Uses]
The leaves and fruit are used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, cuttings, or grafting.
The rooting rate of cuttings is very low.
Seeds will not germinate once dried, so harvest ripe fruit, wash off the pulp and sow immediately, or bury the seeds in moistened vermiculite or similar so they do not dry out and store them in a cool, dark place, then take them out the following spring and wash them well once more before sowing.
Keep the soil from drying out until germination.
A place that is sunny and well drained, and that avoids summer dryness and the afternoon sun, is suitable.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless sunny weather continues in summer and the soil dries out.
Apply organic fertilizer in winter.
Pests and diseases include powdery mildew, black spot, rust, scale insects, aphids, and teppo-mushi (longhorn beetle larvae).

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