Crataegus monogyna

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Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn, whitethorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It grows to about Template:Convert tall, producing hermaphrodite flowers in late spring. The berry-like pomes (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.

DescriptionEdit

The common hawthorn is a shrub or small tree up to about Template:Convert tall,<ref name="Bean's Trees and Shrubs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with a dense crown. The bark is dull brown with vertical orange cracks. The younger stems bear sharp thorns, about Template:Convert long. The leaves are Template:Convert 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.<ref name="Bean's Trees and Shrubs" />

The hermaphrodite flowers are produced in late spring (May to early June in its native area) in corymbs of 5–25 together; they have numerous red stamens and a single style and are moderately fragrant. The flowers are white, frequently pink.<ref name="Parnell-2012">Template:Cite book</ref> They are pollinated by midges, bees, and other insects, and later in the year bear numerous haws. The haw is a small, oval, dark red fruit about 10 mm long, berry-like, but structurally a pome containing a single seed within a stone, the pyrene.<ref name="Bean's Trees and Shrubs" /> The haws develop in groups of two or three along smaller branches. They are pulpy and delicate in taste.

Eenstijlige meidoorn (Crataegus monogyna branch).jpg

Leaves
Crataegus monogyna - Common hawthorn.jpg

In bloom
Pink and brown (4627395373).jpg

Flowers
(MHNT) Crataegus monogyna - flowers and buds.jpg

Close-up of flowers
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Crataegus monogyna (subsp. monogyna) sl30.jpg

Fruit containing a stone (pyrene)

Similar speciesEdit

The common hawthorn is distinguished from the related but less widespread Midland 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 is Crataegus 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.

TaxonomyEdit

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. In 1793, Medikus published the name C. apiifolia for a European hawthorn now included in C. monogyna, but that name is illegitimate under the rules of botanical nomenclature.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="IPNI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other common names include may, mayblossom, maythorn, (as the plant generally flowers in May) quickthorn, whitethorn, motherdie, and haw.<ref name="CABI">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Distribution and habitatEdit

File:Ripon Parks 4 June 2023 (50).JPG

Flowers, North Yorkshire, England

It is native to Europe,<ref name=":0" /> being found in Ireland and Britain.<ref>Clapham,A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg,E.F. 1968 "Excursion Flora of the British Isles." Cambridge University Press.Template:ISBN</ref> It is also found in northwestern Africa and Western Asia,<ref name="CABI">Template:Cite journal</ref> and has escaped to North America, e.g. the Pacific Northwest.<ref name="tktimb">Template:Cite book</ref>

It grows in disturbed, semi-cleared areas.<ref name="tktimb" />

EcologyEdit

Haws are important for wildlife in winter, particularly thrushes and waxwings; these birds eat the haws and disperse the seeds in their droppings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Due to excessive animal grazing in the area, new shoots of vulnerable C. 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A study in Wales indicated that current levels of overgrazing by sheep might extirpate the species in 60–70 years.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

UsesEdit

FoodEdit

The fruit of hawthorn, called haws, are sometimes said to be edible raw,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> but are too dry to be of interest.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> They are commonly made into jellies,<ref name=":0" /> jams, syrups, or wine, or to add flavour to brandy.

The young leaves are tender enough to be used in salads.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Mabey, Richard (2001). Food for Free, Collins.</ref> The petals are also edible.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hawthorn petals are used in the medieval English recipe for spinee, an almond milk-based pottage<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Citation p. 70</ref> recorded in The Forme of Cury by the head chef of King Richard II, Template:Circa.

MedicineEdit

File:2013-05-23 07 24 06 Crataegus monogyna 'Crimson Cloud' blossoms in Elko Nevada.jpg

'Crimson Cloud' in Elko, Nevada

C. monogyna is one of the most common species used as the "hawthorn" of traditional herbalism. The plant parts used are usually sprigs with both leaves and flowers, or alternatively the fruit ("berries").<ref name="UniMarylandMedCtr">Template:Citation</ref> Hawthorn has been investigated by evidence-based medicine for treating cardiac insufficiency.<ref name="UniMarylandMedCtr" />

C. monogyna is a source of antioxidant phytochemicals, especially extracts of hawthorn leaves with flowers.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Gardening and agricultureEdit

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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 livestock- and human-proof, with some basic maintenance. The traditional practice of hedgelaying is most commonly practised with this species. It is a good firewood, which burns with a good heat and little smoke.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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,Template:Citation needed include the various-leaved hawthorn of the Caucasus, which is only very occasionally found in parks and gardens.

In cultureEdit

In pre-modern Europe, hawthorn was used as a symbol of hope, and also as a charm against witchcraft and vampires.Template:Sfn Hawthorn was believed by some to have the ability to inhibit intruding supernatural forces, and was also thought to be sacred in nature due to an association between the hawthorn bush and the crown of thorns that, according to the New Testament, was placed on Jesus.Template:Sfn

As protection against witchcraft, hawthorn was sometimes placed in the cradles of infants, or around houses and doorways.Template:Sfn The Greeks reportedly placed pieces of hawthorn in casement windows to prevent witches from entering houses,Template:Sfn while Bohemians placed hawthorn on the thresholds of cow houses for the same purpose.Template:Sfn Hawthorn was sometimes placed on the coffin of a deceased person, on top of the person's corpse, or in the corpse's sock.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn If the deceased person was a vampire, it would focus its attention on the hawthorn instead of following the woman home.Template:Sfn Among the South Slavs, stakes made of hawthorn or blackthorn wood were considered effective in impaling vampires.Template:Sfn

Notable treesEdit

File:Hawthorn St Mars 2.jpg

The Saint-Mars tree

An ancient specimen, and reputedly the oldest tree of any species in France, is to be found alongside the church at Saint Mars sur la Futaie, Mayenne.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2009, the tree had a height of Template:Convert and a girth of Template:Convert. The inscription on the plaque beneath reads: "This hawthorn is probably the oldest tree in France. Its origin goes back to St Julien (third century)"; this has not yet been verified.

A famous specimen in England was the Glastonbury or Holy Thorn which, according to legend, sprouted from the staff of Joseph 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 the English Civil War,<ref name="BBC News-2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> has been propagated as the cultivar 'Biflora'.<ref>Phipps, J.B.; O'Kennon, R.J.; Lance, R.W. 2003. Hawthorns and medlars. Royal Horticultural Society, Cambridge, UK.</ref> A replacement was planted by the local council in 1951, but was truncated by vandals in 2010.<ref name="BBC News-2012" />

The oldest known living specimen in East Anglia, and possibly in the United Kingdom, is known as the Hethel Old Thorn,<ref name="Wildlifetrusts.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 thirteenth century.<ref name="Wildlifetrusts.org"/>