Common name: hawthorn, thornapple, whitethorn
Botanical name: Crataegus monogyna
Botanical family: Rosaceae
Cultivation
Although native to Europe and the UK, this plant has made its home in many other places including Aotearoa. It is often used as hedging and is found along rural roads.
It is a deciduous tree, meaning that it will lose its leaves in autumn/winter. It’s easy to propagate from seeds. It doesn’t transplant very well. If you want to transplant it, it is better to do so with plants that are less than 20cm tall.
How does it do here in Central Otago? It grows wild in many places. It’s very hardy.
In summer and autumn, the leaves can be damaged by pear slugs (the larvae of the pear sawfly) which feed on the foliage.
Traditional medicinal uses
Its main affinity is with the heart and the cardiovascular system in general. It is a cardiac tonic and is often used to help with high blood pressure and circulatory conditions.
The berries are high in vitamin C and minerals, and contain a lot of pectin.
How to use it?
Part used: flowers and leaves in spring, berries and leaves in autumn.
The flowers and leaves can be used in herbal teas, tinctured in alcohol or glycerine.
The berries can be infused in vinegar, made into jelly or hot sauce, used as a tea or tinctured in alcohol or glycerine.
Contraindications
Anyone on heart medicine should seek medical advice before taking hawthorn.
Mythology/Folklore
Hawthorn was one of the sacred tree for the Celts, and is part of the Ogham alphabet. The ancient Celts believed that the hawthorn tree provided one entrance to the world of the Fairies, “the people of good deeds”. The tree was seen as a symbol of power.
References
Materia Medica of Western Herbs by Carole Fisher
A Woman’s book of herbs by Elisabeth Brooke
The Wild Medicine solution – Healing with Aromatic, Bitter and Tonic Plants by Guido Mase
To speak for the trees – My Life’s journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a healing vision of the Forest by Diana Beresford-Kroeger
