Definitely a hawthorn- I would also guess Thornless Cockspur although the leaves typically have a glossy sheen to them that is not apparent in the second photo.

Someone obviously didn't correct those circling roots.

They do have a glossy sheen to them. Thanks everyone

Not sure bark and leaves fit cock-spur hawthorn, but definitely a hawthorn.

You probably know this, but If you find one look at the photo as an object lesson in how not to plant a tree!

The girdling roots hasn't seemed to slow the growth down much. Maybe they're fused. That happens a lot. I suppose it has a better chance of blowing over than if the roots were more spread out.

Hawthorns are tough trees and can grow in tough situations.

That IS how not to plant a tree though.

Mike

Yes, that's a crazy mess of roots, but in some genera, it doesn't seem to matter so much...or it takes a lot longer to manifest the problems. In any case, yes, the tree shows signs of health and vigor at this time despite that root situation. And while I certainly agree with Mike that that is one way not to plant a tree, it's not-in my opinion-the classic case, which is, of course, a too-deep planting. This ain't that!

+oM

Root-bound nursery stock is pandemic so I would say that problem tops the list by far. This week I was working in a planting a did some years ago - that includes trees I just stuck in without pulling the roots open - and noticing how much leaning over is happening. Sometimes even trees with normally distributed roots get blown over, when what becomes the main roots are involved in going around in circles at the base of the trunk there is significantly less anchorage. Specimens left in small pots or bands too long - as is apparently often the case with material intended for use as root-stock - may form tight, rutabaga-like knots from which only a few main roots ever emerge.

Awhile back friends removed a decades old, prominently positioned Father David maple because it was girdling itself. The section of trunk directly above the most visible constricting root had turned blackish and weepy - not a handsome spectacle - some years before they finally took action.

Not disagreeing with you, but this small-stature tree is less apt to tumble in the wind than a giant maple or oak. I don't have the numeric answer as to which of the two root system anomalies the two of us cite here are the most prevalent. They're both terrible. Around these parts, private landscapers all too often seem utterly oblivious to the "new" tree care. You know-the stuff that has come out since 1980!

Too-deep planting, not unraveling the junk tied around root balls, not finding the root flare, using the top of the ball as a depth guide, using soil amendments in the backfill, not even attempting to make corrections to containerized root systems....it is almost as if these folks are willfully ignorant. There's a lot of "we've always done it this way" going on. Then there's the profit motive as excuse folks. "We can't make a profit if we plant that way".....Well, my answer to that, always at the ready, is that tree planting is a long-term project. The life of the tree should, if at all successful, be measured in decades, if not longer. Hence, another couple minutes taken to plant it correctly vanishes into insignificance over this timespan. Yes, preaching to the choir here this morning!

+oM