PlantFiles: Cockspur Hawthorn
Crataegus crus-galli

I've come to appreciate this native tremendously. I wouldn't recommend deliberately planting Cockspur hawthorn for a barrier, though, unless it were rogue buffalo instead of nuisance children being kept out. The thorns are lethal--long, very stiff and straight, and very sharp. It's naturally low branching--to the ground, and planting it thus just could be considered creating a dangerous condition (something insurance companies hate and claimant attorneys love).

That said, there is a thornless selection available, and I keep the species on my property--and family, friends, and trespassers safe--by the simple means of limbing it up safely overhead.

But to why I like Cockspur hawthorn so much:
It's deciduous, but here in my Georgia garden it's the very last tree to lose its leaves and the very earliest to green up in spring, making it a pretty background for the spring garden and also for extending the gardening year into autumn. The leaves are glossy and attractive. (I've read about the various disease problems that go with it being a hawthorn, but they haven't been a problem yet.)
Its own white flowers are pretty and precede the leaves in earliest spring.
Tthe leaves turn orange before falling.
It's extremely tough and *drought tolerant* and can take a variety of conditions.
It has red berries and is a very good tree for bird food and shelter.
It's horizontal branching pattern is interesting in itself.

I highly recommend it as long as it's kept "high."

Rarer in the garden than its non thorn variety.

This is a flat topped tree with a stratified branching habit and 3-inch spines. Tolerance to shearing makes this an excellent barrier plant. The white, half inch flowers are present in May or June. The red fruit stay into winter and follow the orange to red fall color display. Grows to 25ft with a 30ft spread