hawthorn

Crataegus monogyna

• Deciduous thorny shrub
   
• Grey, fissured bark on a knotted, twisted trunk
   
• Toothed leaves that appear before a mass of wonderful scented blossom (flowers)
   
• The deeply lobed leaves turn orange and dark-red in autumn
   
• Fruits ripen to red berries, which are called "haws"
   

Where found

Very common in hedges, scrub and woodland.
 

When to look for

• First leaves from March to April
   
• Flowers from May to June
   
• Ripe fruit from October to November
   
• Leaves drop in November
   

Did you know?

• Hawthorn has lots of alternative names including:
  
  Quickthorn - because it grows so fast and was traditionally used to make a dense hedge to contain cattle or sheep.
  
  May - because it flowers in late April to early May.
  
  Bread and cheese tree - the young leaves are edible and were used particularly in times of hardship.
  
  
• The name “Hawthorn” comes from the Anglo- Saxon “Hagathorn”, where “Haga “means hedge. Although it is effective as a hedge, if allowed to grow freely it will become a tree of around 10 metres.
  
  
• The Hawthorn was thought to be the ancestor of the maypole and was the source of May Day garlands. The rhyme “here we go gathering nuts in May” referred to the collection of knots (not in fact “nuts”) of may blossom.
  
  
• The saying, "Ne'er cast a clout till May is out" is thought to refer to the hawthorn blossom, not the month and was good advice that summer hadn’t really arrived until the blossom was in flower.