What's a Mayhaw?

The mayhaw resembles a small crabapple. The tree is in the Rosacea family and the genus Crataegus. The mayhaw is a Hawthorne tree and it bears its fruit in May, hence the name mayhaw. The mayhaw fruit ranges in colors from pink to dark red, and one or two selections are yellow. The size of the fruit averages from one half to about one inch in diameter. The mayhaw is found in the Southern United States from East Texas to the Panhandle of Florida. The heaviest concentrations of native mayhaw trees are found in Grant Parish, Louisiana, near Winnie, Texas, and in the Pearl River swamps of Mississippi. Commercial mayhaw orchards are found as far north as the Louisiana and Arkansas state line.

Mayhaw fruit fresh from the orchard.

Where are Mayhaw fruit grown ?
The Mayhaw is found in the Southern United States from East Texas to the panhandle of Florida. The heaviest concentrations of native mayhaw trees are found in Grant Parish, Louisiana, near Winnie, Texas and in the Pearl River swamps of Mississippi. Fruit growers in other area's are testing mayhaw to determine exactly how far North the tree will bear fruit. Commercial mayhaw orchards are found as far North as the Louisiana and Arkansas state line. The tree will actually survive 20 degrees below zero, but the primary problem is that the mayhaw is subject to blooming very early in the Spring and many times the blooms are lost due to frosts and freezes. Trees that have this characteristic are referred to as being "low chill trees." Several people are breeding mayhaw trees in order to develop trees that will bloom later in Spring.