May garland in October

Back to Brownhill Creek again today, looking for anything interesting and hopefully different. Spotted this Hawthorn blossom, and is also widely known as the May-tree (in UK), and is the only British plant to be named after the month in which it flowers .

It is most typically thought of as a hedgerow shrub. It is an introduced plant and growing wild in the park. However when isolated like this, and left uncut, the bush will develop into strong trees with dense crowns.

The flowers, which occur in groups of 9-18, are white, often with a pinkish blush, and look amazing right now due to the perfect weather for their best display this spring.

The Hawthorn tree is the origin of the Maypole, and the blossoms are used in Mayday decorations. The bright red berries will be produced later in the season.

Here in Australia it can grow up to 20m in height and is not commonly used as a hedging plant in our state. It is more a giant weed!

Clearer stamens.

It belongs to the Rosaceae family, Genus Crataegus.