Hawthorn

Botanical Name: Crataegus monogyna

Family: Rosaceae

Other Names: Bread and butter, bread and cheese, hagthorn, hazels, huath, ladies meat, may, may tree moon flower, quick set, quick thorn, tree of chastity, white thorn

Habitat: Woods, hedges, scrubland, heaths, downs

Description: Shrub or small tree 8m/26ft tall Bark-purplish/brown. Twigs-black sharp thorns. Leaves alternate, green, oval, 3-5lobed 5-19cm long White, long stalked with pink centres flowers in dense clusters May-June. Red fruit around October. Deciduous can live over 400 years

Native to: Europe, N. Africa, Asia

Parts Used: Wood, fruit and flowery tops, leaves

Cultivation: Prefers light, lime rich soil

Propagation: Can be grown from seed but easier from cuttings

Harvesting: Leaves: April – May. Berries September –October

Actions: Anti-arrhythmic, anti-oxidant, astringent (mild), cardiac trophorestorative, hypotensive, nervine, tonic

Constituents: Berries: Saponins, glycosides, ascorbic acid

Flavonoids: vitexin, vitexin-4-rhamnoside, quercetin, quercetin-3-galactoside, hyperoside, rutin, vicentin, orientin

Procyanidins, catechins, epicatechin dimers

Phenolic acids –chlorogenic acid, caffeic acids

Amines-phenethylamine, methoxyphenethylamine, dopamine, acetylcholine, tyramine

Triterpenes –based on ursolic acid, oleanolic acid

Combines with: Lime blossom, yarrow, and mistletoe

Culinary Uses: Salads

Circulatory muscle joint: Heart, angina, and high blood pressure

Respiratory: Sore throats

Genito-urinary: Fertility

Other Notes: Used in marriage

  Grown near sacred wells in Ireland

  Haw is thought to mean hedge –it was used to indicate boundaries

  Its botanical name comes from the Greek "kratos" = strength, referring to the hardness of the wood.

  Its berries are known as Pixie Pears, Cuckoo's Beads and Chucky Cheese

  Pollen counts show hawthorn was widespread in Britain before 6000BC

  Sacred to the fairies and pagan fertility goddesses

  The crown of thorns that Jesus wore was said to be made of hawthorn

  Said to be unlucky to bring hawthorn into a house before May day

  Said to protect against witches, evil spirits and lightening if laid above doors

  The botanical name comes from the Greek “kratos” meaning hard and refers to the wood of the tree

  The Hawthorn in ancient mythology was created from lightning

  Germans traditionally used wood of the Hawthorn in funeral pyres as it was thought to assist the souls of the dead in ascension.

Ruled by mars  

A Somerset charm for a healing a wound meant passing a Hawthorn over the injury saying:

"Christ was of the Virgin born
He was pricked by a thorn,
It never did bell and swell
I trust in Jesus this never will"

St Joseph of Arimathea is said to have stuck his staff into the ground of Wearyall Hill, where it rooted and burst into leaf, blossoming every year on Christmas Day - becoming known as the Glastonbury Thorn. To this day a sprig from this particular Hawthorn is sent to the Queen each Christmas.

It is associated with the Roman goddess Cardea, goddess of marriage and childbirth

  Hawthorn became the emblem of the House of Tudor because it is said that after Richard's death at Bosworth, Lord Stanley found his crown in a Hawthorn bush and placed it on the head of his son, Henry Tudor.

  In the Middle Ages it was believed that destroying a hawthorn brought about supernatural punishment

  It was used to protect homes by hanging it near doorways

It is host to 149 insect species. Blackbirds and finches nest in it. The berries provide food for more than 23 species of birds. It is pollinated by dung flies and midges attracted by the smell. The flower's anthers are purple with brown pollen, which, to flies, has the appearance of decaying flesh! Food plant of the caterpillars of the following moths - March, Common Emerald, Little Emerald, November, Pale November, Winter, Mottled Pug, Pinion Spotted Pug, Common Pug, Grey Pug, Peppered, Brindled Beauty, Pale Brindled Beauty, Feathered Thorn, Scalloped Hazel, Scalloped Oak, Swallow-tailed, Brimstone, Large Thorn, Early Thorn, Oak Tree Pug, The Magpie, and Broken Barred Carpet. The tree is also popular with Duke of Burgundy butterflies and Hawthorn Shield bugs

Energetics: Smell: woody (leaves) fruity (berries)

Physical: Body

Charka: Base

Meridians: Heart, spleen, stomach, liver

  Sweet, sour, warming (Leaves)

Slightly fiery (Berries)

Beautiful lady in white

Cautions: Do not use if taking blood pressure lowering drugs or in you have low blood pressure