| Common Hawthorn | |
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| Conservation status | |
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Secure
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Crataegus |
| Series: | Crataegus[1] |
| Species: | C. monogyna |
| Binomial name | |
| Crataegus monogyna Jacq. |
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Crataegus monogyna, known as Common Hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. Other common names include may, mayblossom, maythorn, quickthorn, whitethorn, motherdie, and haw. This species is one of several that have been referred to as Crataegus oxyacantha, a name that has been rejected by the botanical community as too ambiguous.
It is a broadly spreading shrub or small tree 5–14 m tall, with a dense crown. The bark is dull brown with vertical orange cracks. The younger stems bear sharp thorns, 1 to 1.5 cm long. The leaves are 2–4 cm long, obovate and deeply lobed, sometimes almost to the midrib, with the lobes spreading at a wide angle. The upper surface is dark green above and paler underneath.
The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring (May to early June in its native area) in corymbs of 5-25 together; each flower is about 1 cm diameter, and has five white petals, numerous red stamens, and a single style; they are moderately fragrant. They are pollinated by midges and later in the year bear numerous haws. The haw is a small, oval dark red fruit about 1 cm long, berry-like, but structurally a pome containing a single seed. Haws are important for wildlife in winter, particularly thrushes and waxwings; these birds eat the haws and disperse the seeds in their droppings.
It is distinguished from the related but less widespread Midland Hawthorn (C. laevigata) in the leaves being deeply lobed, with spreading lobes, and in the flowers having just one style, not two or three. However they are inter-fertile and hybrids occur frequently; they are only entirely distinct in their more typical forms.
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Uses
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Common Hawthorn is extensively planted as a hedge plant, especially for agricultural use. Its spines and close branching habit render it effectively stock and human proof with some basic maintenance. The traditional practice of hedge laying is most commonly practiced with this species.
Numerous hybrids exist, some of which are used as garden shrubs. The most widely used hybrid is C. × media (C. monogyna × C. laevigata) , of which several cultivars are known, including the very popular 'Paul's Scarlet' with dark pink double flowers. Other garden shrubs that have sometimes been suggested as possible hybrids involving the Common Hawthorn[citation needed], include the Various-leaved Hawthorn of the Caucasus, which is only very occasionally found in parks and gardens.
In herbalism the active ingredients in flowers are: tannins, flavonoids, essential oil, triterpene-carbonic acids and purine derivatives. The fruits contain tannins, flavonoids, pigments and vitamins. An infusion of hawthorn is used to treat various heart and circulatory problems and to support digitalis therapy. The young leaves are good in salads. Various other uses are traditional in European herbalism[2].
Edible "berries"
The fruit of hawthorn, called haws, are edible, but are commonly made into jellies, jams, and syrups, used to make wine, or to add flavour to brandy, rather than eaten fresh. Botanically they are pomes, but they look similar to berries. A haw is small and oblong, similar in size and shape to a small olive or grape, and red when ripe. Haws develop in groups of 2-3 along smaller branches. They are pulpy and delicate in taste. In this species (C. monogyna) they have only one seed, but in other species of hawthorn there may be up to 5 seeds. Some people recommend picking them when they are bright red, but others recommend waiting until they are black and about to fall apart.
Ancient trees
A famous specimen in England, the Glastonbury Thorn, was noteworthy because it flowered twice in a year, once in the late spring which is normal, but also once after the harshness of midwinter has passed. The original specimen at Glastonbury Abbey, now long dead, has been propagated as the cultivar 'Biflora'[3].
The oldest known living specimen in East Anglia, and possibly in the United Kingdom, is known as "The Hethel Old Thorn",[4] and is located in the churchyard in the small village of Hethel, south of Norwich, in Norfolk. It is reputed to be more than 700 years old, having been planted in the 13th century.[4]
See also
- List of Lepidoptera that feed on hawthorns
- Folklore about hawthorns, primarily the European species C. laevigata and/or C. monogyna and hybrids between these two species.
References
- ^ Christensen, K.I. (1992). Revision of Crataegus sect. Crataegus and nothosect. Crataeguineae (Rosaceae-Maloideae) in the Old World. Systematic Botany Monographs. 35: 1–199.
- ^ http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hawtho09.html| Ed Greenwood 1995, Electronic version of A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs & Trees with their Modern Scientific Uses, by Mrs. M. Grieve, first published 1931.
- ^ Phipps, J.B.; O’Kennon, R.J.; Lance, R.W. 2003. Hawthorns and medlars. Royal Horticultural Society, Cambridge, U.K.
- ^ a b "Hethel Old Thorn" from The Wildlife Trusts, UK. Accessed 18 February, 2007
External links
- Crataegus monogyna in Topwalks
- Hawthorn Gallery (photographs of a number of such trees, including Hethel Old Thorn)
- Hawthorn
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