The Hidden Hawthorn Society

 have always suspected that there was a secret hawthorn society hiding within the IOS. Ron Lance, the second President of the IOS, wrote a book about hawthorns of the Southeastern United States. He had already coauthored an earlier book on the subject. Several members of the IOS in America, Europe, and even Australia collect Crataegus.  

Last weekend, the Belgian Dendrology Society held a full-day event devoted to Crataegus. In the afternoon, a visit was organized to an excellent hawthorn collection in Tielt, Belgium, a collection assembled by nurseryman Kurt Van Nieuwenhuyse, who works with Dirk Benoit, another IOS member interested in Crataegus. Three past and current Presidents of the IOS attended the meeting.