Question

Which plant is described by these clues? The genus name comes from the Greek word for strength, a nod to the famously hard, dense wood. The species epithet is Latin for smooth, a reference to the glossy, hairless leaves. Each flower has five separate {petals} and a crowd of free {stamens} around the rim of a shallow cup, and every leaf stalk carries a pair of small {stipules} at its base. The glossy single blades are 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) wide and cut into three to five shallow, forward-pointing {lobes} down each side. Stiff woody {thorns} 0.5 to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 cm) long arm the twigs of this small deciduous tree. The spring blossom carries a heavy, musky scent that many people find unpleasant. In the wild form the flowers have two or three {styles}, and the dark red fruit, 0.25 to 0.4 inch (6 to 10 mm) across, holds two or three bony stones. The wild form is native to western and central Europe, where it grows along woodland edges, hedgerows and scrub. Fire blight is its main weakness, leaving whole branches looking scorched and blackened. Its common hedgerow cousin differs by having a single style per flower and leaves cut almost to the midrib. A double, scarlet-flowered garden form arose around 1858 as a sport on a double pink tree and won an RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Accepted Answer

Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet'

Name That Plant #136