Description:
A decidious Shrub growing to 6m by 6m at a medium rate.
This familiar tree will attain a height of 30 feet and lives
to a great age. It possesses a single seed-vessel to each blossom
producing a separate fruit, which when ripe is a brilliant
red and this is in miniature a stony apple. In some districts
these mealy red fruits are called Pixie Pears, Cuckoo's Beads
and Chucky Cheese. The flowers are mostly fertilized by carrion
insects, the suggestion of decomposition in the perfume attracts
those insects that lay their eggs and hatch out their larvae
in decaying animal matter.
Distribution and habitat:
Woodland Garden; Secondary; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Deep
Shade;
Hedge.
Midland hawthorn is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the
family Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern
Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn
was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,
especially the Common Hawthorn C. monogyna, but is now applied
to the entire genus, and also to the related Asian genus Rhaphiolepis.
Hystory:
The Hawthorn is the badge of the Ogilvies and gets one of
its commonest popular names from blooming in May. Many country
villagers believe that Hawthorn flowers still bear the smell
of the Great Plague of London. The tree was formerly regarded
as sacred, probably from a tradition that it furnished the
Crown of Thorns. The device of a Hawthorn bush was chosen by
Henry VII because a small crown from the helmet of Richard
III was discovered hanging on it after the battle of Bosworth,
hence the saying, 'Cleve to thy Crown though it hangs on a
bush.' The Hawthorn is called Crataegus Oxyacantha from the
Greek kratos, meaning hardness (of the wood), oxcus (sharp),
and akantha (a thorn). The German name of Hagedorn, meaning
Hedgethorn, shows that from a very early period the Germans
divided their land into plots by
Hedges; the word haw is also
an old word for
Hedge. The name Whitethorn arises from the
whiteness of its bark and Quickset from its growing as a quick
or living
Hedge, in contrast to a paling of dead wood.
Parts used:
Dried haws or fruits.
Constituens:
In common with other members of the Prunus and Pyrus groups
of theorder Rosaceae, the Hawthorn contains Amyddalin. The
bark contains the alkaloid Crataegin, isolated in greyish-white
crystals,
Bitter in taste, soluble in water, with difficulty
in alcohol and not at all in ether.
Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Fruit; Leaves.
Edible Uses: Coffee; Tea.Fruit - raw or cooked. A dry and mealy
texture, they are not very appetizing. The fruit can be used
for jams and preserves. The fruit pulp can be dried, ground into
a meal and mixed with flour in making bread etc. The fruit is
about 1cm in diameter. There are up to five fairly large seeds
in the centre of the fruit, these often stick together and so
the effect is of eating a cherry-like fruit with a single seed.
Young leaves and young shoots - raw. A tasty nibble, they are
nice in a salad. Young leaves are a tea substitute. The roasted
seed is a coffee substitute.
Medicinal Uses:
Antispasmodic;
Astringent;
Tonic;
Cardiotonic;
Diuretic;
Hypotensive;
Sedative;
Tonic;
Vasodilator.
Hawthorn is an extremely valuable medicinal herb. It is used
mainly for treating disorders of the heart and circulation
system, especially angina. Western herbalists consider it a
'food for the heart', it increases the blood flow to the heart
muscles and restores normal heart beat. This effect is brought
about by the presence of bioflavonoids in the fruit, these
bioflavonoids are also strongly antioxidant, helping to prevent
or reduce degeneration of the blood vessels. The fruit is
antispasmodic,
cardiac,
diuretic,
sedative,
tonic and
vasodilator.
Both the fruits and flowers of hawthorns are well-known in
herbal folk medicine as a heart tonic and
modern research has borne out this use. The fruits and flowers
have a
hypotensive effect
as well as acting as a direct and mild heart tonic.
They are especially indicated in the treatment of weak heart
combined with high blood pressure, they are also used to treat
a heart muscle weakened by age, for inflammation of the heart
muscle, arteriosclerosis and for nervous heart problems. Prolonged
use is necessary for the treatment to be efficacious]. It is
normally used either as a tea or a tincture. Hawthorn is combined
with ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) to enhance poor memory, working
by improving the blood supply to the brain. The bark is
astringent
and has been used in the treatment of malaria and other fevers.
The roots are said to stimulate the arteries of the heart.
Others Uses:
Charcoal;
Fuel;
Hedge;
Rootstock;
Wood.
A good hedge plant,
it is very tolerant of neglect and is able to regenerate if
cut back severely, it makes a good thorny stock-proof barrier
and resists very strong winds. It can be used in layered hedges.
The plant is often used as a
rootstock for
several species of garden fruit such as the medlar (Mespilus
germanica) and the pear (Pyrus communis sativa). Wood - very
hard and tough but difficult to work. It has a fine grain and
takes a beautiful polish but
is seldom large enough to be of great value. It is used for
tool handles and making small wooden articles etc. The wood
is valued in turning and makes an excellent
fuel,
giving out a lot of heat, more so even than oak wood.
charcoal
made from the wood is said to be able to melt pig iron without
the aid of a blast.
Dosage:
Infusion: steep 1 tsp. flowers in 1/2
cup water. Take 1 to 1 1/2 cups per day, a mouthful at
a time. Sweeten with honey if desired.
Decoction: use 1 tsp. crushed fruit
with 1/2 cup cold water. Let stand for 7-8 hours, then
bring quickly to a boil and strain. Take 1 to 1 1/2 cups
per day, a mouthful at a time, sweetened with honey if
desired.
Also, use 1/2 oz. hawthorn berries simmered in 1 pint
of water for 20 minutes, along with 1 tsp. of cinnamon
and taken 3 times a day after meals, sweetened with honey
as a heart tonic.
Tincture: use concentrated preparations
under medical direction.
Safety:
Large amounts of hawthorn may cause sedation and/or a significant
drop in blood pressure, possibly resulting in faintness.
