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Arborescent shrub or more often a tree to 10 m, often with a broadly rounded or depressed top and widely spreading branches; twigs glabrous or nearly so; lvs glabrous or nearly so, dark green and glossy above, the floral ones mostly obovate or narrowly obovate to sometimes elliptic, 2–6 × 1–3.5 cm, only obscurely if at all lobed, those on vegetative shoots more often 5–9 × 3–8 cm and sometimes more evidently lobed; petiole 0.3–2 cm; fls 0.8–1.8 cm wide, in glabrous or subglabrous, usually lax, compound cymes; sep lanceolate or lance-linear, entire or occasionally somewhat serrate; fr 0.6–1.5 cm thick, green to dull or bright red, remaining rather hard and dry; nutlets usually 1 or 2(3–5); 2n=51, 68. Que. to Fla., w. to Minn., Kans., and Tex. (C. acutifolia; C. canbyi; C. hannibalensis; C. ohioensis; C. permixta; C. prunifolia; C. pyracanthoides; C. regalis; C. schizophylla; C. tantula; C. vallicola) Typical C. crus-galli has 10 usually white anthers; plants with 20 pink anthers have been segregated as C. tenax Ashe (C. fontanesiana, misapplied).
A very small deciduous tree. It grows 8-10 m high. It is wide spreading. The bark is dark brown and scaly. The leaves are 10 cm long by 4 cm wide. They usually have a rounded wide tip. The leaves are sharply toothed. There are many slender thorns. They are 5-7 cm long. The flowers are 1.5 cm across. They are white with 5 petals and pink anthers. They occur in rounded heads. The fruit are 6-10 mm across. They are deep orange-red when ripe.
