Crataegus azarolus explained

Crataegus azarolus is a species of hawthorn known by the common names azarole, azerole (from Arabic: الزُّعرُورَة|az-zu'rūra) 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 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.^[1]

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 . 10.1002/ffj.1476.
• Book: Phipps, J.B. . O’Kennon . R.J. . Lance . R.W. . 2003 . Hawthorns and medlars . Royal Horticultural Society . Cambridge, U.K. . 978-0881925913 . registration .

Notes and References

1. 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 . 10.1016/j.jep.2005.04.024 . 15970411 .