Crataegus monogyna, known ascommon hawthorn,whitethorn,one-seed hawthorn, orsingle-seeded hawthorn, is a species offlowering plant in the rose family,Rosaceae. It grows to about 10 metres (33 feet) tall, producinghermaphrodite flowers in late spring. The berry-likepomes (known as haws) contain a stone-encased seed.
The plant is native to Europe, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. The pome flesh is of little culinary interest due to its dryness, but is used to make jellies. The young leaves and petals are also edible.
The common hawthorn is ashrub or smalltree up to about 10 metres (33 feet) tall,[4] with a dense crown. Thebark is dull brown with vertical orange cracks. The younger stems bear sharp thorns, about 12.5 millimetres (1⁄2 inch) long. Theleaves are20 to 40 mm (3⁄4 to1+1⁄2 in) 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.[4]
Thehermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring (May to early June in its native area) incorymbs of 5–25 together; they have numerous redstamens and a singlestyle and are moderately fragrant. The flowers are white, frequently pink[5] pollinated bymidges, bees, and other insects, and later in the year bear numerous haws. The haw is a small, oval, dark redfruit about 10 mm long,berry-like, but structurally apome containing a singleseed within a stone, thepyrene.[4] The haws develop in groups of two or three along smaller branches. They are pulpy and delicate in taste.
The common hawthorn is distinguished from the related but less widespreadMidland hawthorn (C. laevigata) by its more upright growth, the leaves being deeply lobed, with spreading lobes, and the flowers having just one style, not two or three. They are interfertile, however, so hybrids occur frequently; they are only entirely distinct in their more typical forms. Another species that also hybridises with the common hawthorn isCrataegus rhipidophylla, which is distinguished by having finely instead of coarsely serrated lobe margins.
The pomes of some other hawthorns may have up to five seeds.
This species is one of several that have been referred to asCrataegus oxyacantha, a name that has been rejected by the botanical community as too ambiguous. In 1793,Medikus published the nameC. apiifolia for a European hawthorn now included inC. monogyna, but that name isillegitimate under the rules ofbotanical nomenclature.[6][7]
Other common names includemay,mayblossom,maythorn, (as the plant generally flowers in May)quickthorn,whitethorn,motherdie, andhaw.[8]
It is native to Europe,[9] being found in Ireland and Britain.[10] It is also found in northwestern Africa and Western Asia,[8] and has escaped to North America, e.g. thePacific Northwest.[11]
Haws are important forwildlife in winter, particularlythrushes andwaxwings; these birds eat the haws and disperse theseeds in their droppings.[12]
Due to excessive animal grazing in the area, new shoots of vulnerableC. monogyna trees in the open field are eaten by animals. This does not allow them to grow and causes them to take a horizontally irregular shape on the ground.[13]
A study in Wales indicated that current levels ofovergrazing by sheep might extirpate the species in 60–70 years.[14]
The fruit of hawthorn, called haws, are sometimes said to be edible raw,[15] but are too dry to be of interest.[9] They are commonly made into jellies,[9] jams, syrups, or wine, or to add flavour to brandy.
C. monogyna is one of the most common species used as the "hawthorn" of traditionalherbalism. The plant parts used are usually sprigs with both leaves and flowers, or alternatively the fruit ("berries").[20] Hawthorn has been investigated byevidence-based medicine for treating cardiac insufficiency.[20]
Common hawthorn is extensively planted as ahedge plant, especially foragricultural use. Its spines and close branching habit render it effectively livestock- and human-proof, with some basic maintenance. The traditional practice ofhedgelaying is most commonly practised with this species. It is a goodfirewood, which burns with a good heat and little smoke.[22]
Numeroushybrids exist, some of which are used as garden shrubs. The most widely used hybrid isC. × media (C. monogyna ×C. laevigata), of which severalcultivars 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 thevarious-leaved hawthorn of theCaucasus, which is only very occasionally found in parks and gardens.
In pre-modern Europe, hawthorn was used as a symbol of hope, and also as a charm againstwitchcraft andvampires.[23] Hawthorn was believed by some to have the ability to inhibit intrudingsupernatural forces, and was also thought to be sacred in nature due to an association between the hawthorn bush and thecrown of thorns that, according to theNew Testament, was placed onJesus.[24]
As protection against witchcraft, hawthorn was sometimes placed in the cradles of infants, or around houses and doorways.[23] The Greeks reportedly placed pieces of hawthorn incasement windows to prevent witches from entering houses,[25] whileBohemians placed hawthorn on the thresholds ofcow houses for the same purpose.[24] Hawthorn was sometimes placed on the coffin of a deceased person, on top of the person's corpse, or in the corpse's sock.[24] In Bosnia, women would sometimes place a piece of hawthorn behind the headcloth of a recently deceased person, and then throw away the remaining twig on their way home.[24] If the deceased person was a vampire, it would focus its attention on the hawthorn instead of following the woman home.[24] Among theSouth Slavs, stakes made of hawthorn orblackthorn wood were considered effective in impaling vampires.[26]
An ancient specimen, and reputedly the oldest tree of any species in France, is to be found alongside the church atSaint Mars sur la Futaie,Mayenne.[27] As of 2009, the tree had a height of 9 m (30 ft) and a girth of2.65 m (8+1⁄2 ft). The inscription on the plaque beneath reads: "This hawthorn is probably the oldest tree in France. Its origin goes back toSt Julien (third century)"; this has not yet been verified.
A famous specimen in England was theGlastonbury or Holy Thorn which, according to legend, sprouted from the staff ofJoseph of Arimathea after he thrust it into the ground while visiting Glastonbury in the first century AD. The tree 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 had passed. The original tree at Glastonbury Abbey, felled in the 1640s during theEnglish Civil War,[28] has been propagated as the cultivar 'Biflora'.[29] A replacement was planted by the local council in 1951, but was truncated by vandals in 2010.[28]
The oldest known living specimen inEast Anglia, and possibly in the United Kingdom, is known as theHethel Old Thorn,[30] and is located in the churchyard in the small village ofHethel, south of Norwich, in Norfolk. It is reputed to be more than 700 years old, having been planted in the thirteenth century.[30]
^ab"Hawthorn",University of Maryland Medical Center: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Guide, archived fromthe original on 30 June 2017, retrieved3 October 2016
^Oztürk N, Tunçel M (2011). "Assessment of Phenolic Acid Content and In Vitro Antiradical Characteristics of Hawthorn".J Med Food.14 (6):664–669.doi:10.1089/jmf.2010.0063.PMID21554133.
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