I have no firsthand experience with them. Here's what Dirr has to say:
"Selected species in the Southeast are affectionately termed Mayhaw and are
grown for their reddish (some blue-purple) fruits which are processed into
jellies, et al. The jelly is a rich rose red, jewel-like agar with a slight
tangy taste. As a group, the species have perhaps little to offer the
everyday landscape but are worth considering for fringe areas of the garden.
The taxonomy is extremely muddled and one reference lists over 100, another
lists 35, species for the Southeast. Approximately 1000 species of
CRATAEGUS have been proposed as legitimate. The reasons for lack of
consistency include apomixis, polyploidy, and aneuploidy which results in
unusual chromosome numbers that may be perpetuated via apomixis. The species
occur in many habitats from river bottoms, wet depressions to sandy scrub
oak-pine woods to thin soils of rock outcrops. They are an extremely
important food source for wildlife and particularly birds who disseminate
them widely... Possibly the best review paper is "Mayhaws: Trees of
Pomological and Ornamental Interest," HORTSCIENCE 25:246, 375 (1990)."
Dave
"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
Has anyone ever planted one of these?
--
Celestial Habitats by J. Kolenovsky
2003 Honorable Mention Award, Keep Houston Beautiful
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