Botanical
Normally a small tree, hawthorn can appear as a multi-stemmed shrub, especially
in hedgerows, and is recognised by its distinctive five or three-lobed leaves
and short thorns. As a gnarled bush, it can be found often on its own in meadows
or at the edge of woodland and in well-lit deciduous woods, it can twist itself
into impressive shapes. Its wood is fine-grained and excellent for carving,
being often used for inlays on boxes (and even combs). As a firewood it
burns very hot.
Very hardy, with strong, deep roots, hawthorn can grow
well on rocky or clay soils, although it does need nutritious soil, preferably
alkaline. As part of a hedgerow, hawthorn provides a dense windbreak that
prevents passage by cattle and protects open farmland (its germanic name of
hegen, means to protect and nourish). Similar to its close cousin, blackthorn
(well-known for its sloe berries), hawthorn has berries that provide food for
many small birds and mammals, which include blackbirds, thrushes, pigeons and
robins, as well as voles and squirrels.
Hawthorn is home to more than two
hundred species of insects that are associated with it, making it a veritable
supermarket for nesting birds. Reaching a height of forty feet (if not cut
back), hawthorn can achieve a massive trunk and live for five hundred years or
more. Leaves appear in mid May and the flowers a week or so after. The strongly
scented white blossoms can appear to completely cover the hawthorn bush, turning
to green berries which, toward the end of summer give way to the brilliant red
haws, with each haw (berry) containing a single pit (stone) in the centre (and
two pits in the midland hawthorn).
Medically, hawthorn has been used for
generations as a tonic to strengthen the heart and circulation and balance blood
pressure. It contains vitamin C and anti-oxidents and can alleviate cramp, general fatigue and indifference and act as
relaxant for over-activity. Leaves, flowers or berries can be made into a tea
that has few side effects if drunk regularly, and its berries, if dry, are
edible if plucked fresh from the bush. Certainly, Neolithic mans diet included
hawthorn berries in his diet. Prepared as a jam with other berries or apple,
they are excellent, or else used as a chutney.
Added notes: Many species, not always easy to tell apart. All are thorny
shrubs in the Rose family, and most have whitish or pinkish flowers.
Leaves: in cooking taste like lime beans, chewed
when anxious and sometimes used as a tobacco substitute
Flowers: edible, good for salads ; Seeds: coffee substitute;
rose family: rosaceae common awthorn: (crataegus monogyana) midland hawthorn (crataegus laevigata)