The common hawthorn is a shrub or small tree up to about 10 metres (33 feet) tall,[4] with a dense crown.

[4] The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring (May to early June in its native area) in corymbs of 5–25 together; they have numerous red stamens and a single style and are moderately fragrant.

The flowers are white, frequently pink[5] pollinated by midges, bees, and other insects, and later in the year bear numerous haws.

The haw is a small, oval, dark red fruit about 10 mm long, berry-like, but structurally a pome containing a single seed within a stone, the pyrene.

[6][7] Other common names include may, mayblossom, maythorn, (as the plant generally flowers in May) quickthorn, whitethorn, motherdie, and haw.

[10] It is also found in northwestern Africa and Western Asia,[8] and has escaped to North America, e.g. the Pacific Northwest.

[17] Hawthorn petals are used in the medieval English recipe for spinee, an almond milk-based pottage[18][19] recorded in The Forme of Cury by the head chef of King Richard II, c. 1390.

Its spines and close branching habit render it effectively livestock- and human-proof, with some basic maintenance.

The most widely used hybrid is C. × media (C. monogyna × C. laevigata), of which several cultivars are known, including the very popular 'Paul's Scarlet' with dark pink double flowers.

[24] In Bosnia, women would sometimes place a piece of hawthorn behind the headcloth of a recently deceased person, and then throw away the remaining twig on their way home.

[24] Among the South Slavs, stakes made of hawthorn or blackthorn wood were considered effective in impaling vampires.

[26] An ancient specimen, and reputedly the oldest tree of any species in France, is to be found alongside the church at Saint Mars sur la Futaie, Mayenne.