Crataegus iracunda
Introduction '''''Crataegus iracunda''''', with common name '''passionate hawthorn''', and sometimes called the '''stolon-bearing hawthorn''' is a North American species of hawthorn. It was described in 1899 by Chauncey Delos Beadle of the Biltmore Herbarium (Biltmore Estate) in North Carolina. Taxonomic opinions have differed about this species, and to complicate matters ''Crataegus macrosperma'' and various species of ''C.'' series ''Populneae'' have frequently been misidentified as ''C. iracunda'', leading to differing statements about its geographic range. The 2015 Flora of North America considers its range to be in the southeastern U.S., restricted to the US states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. ''Crataegus iracunda'' is a branching shrub or small tree rarely more than  in height, sprouting from the roots and thus forming large thickets. Leaves are egg-shaped, pointed at the tips, with teeth along the edges. Flowers come in flat-topped arrays. Fruit is red or orange, sometimes with green blotches.Varieties within the species have been defined, for example:*''C. iracunda'' var. ''iracunda'', with synonyms:**''C. drymophila'' Sarg.**''C. silvicola'' Beadle**''C. maineana'' Sarg.*''C. iracunda'' var. ''stolonifera'' (Sarg.) Kruschke, with synonyms:**''C. stolonifera'' Sarg.**''C. demissa'' Sarg.*''C. iracunda'' var. ''populnea'' (Ashe) Kruschke, with synonyms:**''C. populnea'' Ashe**''C. marcida'' Ashe**''C. perlaeta'' Sarg.**''C. delectata'' Sarg.*''C. iracunda'' var. ''brumalis'' (Ashe) Kruschke, with synonym:**''C. brumalis'' Ashe*''C. iracunda'' var. ''diffusa'' (Sarg.) Kruschke, with synonyms:**''C. diffusa'' Sarg.**''C. beckwithae'' Sarg.**''C. uncta'' Sarg.
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