Native to Japan and Korea.
Japanese hawthorn is similar to Indian hawthorn R. indica.
The Japanese species differs mainly by having more ovate leaves with a smooth edge.
Similar features include being shrubs 3 to 4 (6) m high.
Young stems, and the petioles have brown hairs.
Leaves are on a petiole up to 1 cm long.
Ovate, elliptic to obovate leaf blades are dark green above and pale below.
Up to 8 or 10 cm long and 4 cm wide they have a blunt tip.
The edge can be smooth all around or have just a few scattered teeth.
Branched terminal inflorescences are on a peduncle with dense brown hairs.
Flowers are on a hairy pedicel up to 1 or 2 mm long.
Flowers have an inverted cone-shaped hypanthium 2 to 3 mm long.
Of fused sepal, petal and filament bases it has dense brown hairs.
On the rim are 5 pointed sepal lobes 3 to 5 mm long.
There are dense hairs on the inner surface and less on the outer.
The 5 white obovate petal lobes are around 1 cm long.
There are around 20 stamens on the hypanthium rim.
The inferior ovary has 2 locules with 2 ovules in each.
The bases of the 2 styles are fused.
Purplish-black spherical fruit are up to 1 cm across.
Fallen sepal lobes leave an annular scar on the top.
There are no hairs.
There are some cultivars including a dwarf form.
J.F.
