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 | Hawthorn Other Names: May. Mayblossom. Quick. Thorn. Whitethorn. Haw. Hazels. Gazels. Halves. Hagthorn.
Botanical Name: Crataegus oxyacantha
Family: N.O. Rosaceae |
Description: |
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.
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. |
Habitat: |
| Europe, North Africa, Western Asia. |
Constituents: |
| 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. |
Medicinal Usage: |
| Cardiac, diuretic, astringent, tonic. Mainly used as a cardiac tonic in organic and functional heart troubles. Both flowers and berries are astringent and useful in decoction to cure sore throats. A useful diuretic in dropsy and kidney troubles. |
Ancient Lore: |
HAWTHORN CRATAEGUS MONOGYNA
The seeds in the berries beaten to powder being drunk in wine, are good against the stone and dropsy.
The Hawthorn is known by many names, including May Blossom and Quickthorn. Young twigs are reddish, clothed with small leaves. The flowers grow in clusters, consisting of five white petals, with reddish apices in the middle of each petal.
Where to find it: It will make a tree of 30 feet (9 m) but it is commonly used to provide cheap hedging as it grows fast.Flowering time: Late spring. The berries are ripe in early autumn.
Astrology: It is a tree of Mars.
Medicinal virtues: The distilled water of the flowers stays the lax. The seeds cleared of the down and bruised, being boiled in wine, are good to relieve inward pains. If the distilled water be applied to any place pierced with thorns or splinters, it will draw them out.
Modern uses: This is a remedy which is more in use today than in former times because of its use as a cardiac tonic. Of course heart disease is at epidemic proportions in western countries and, therefore, remedies for the heart become of more importance. Hawthorn, particularly the berries, increases the muscular action of the heart. It is a remedy that is suitable for most cardiac disorders. Where there is angina, palpitations, irregular pulse or other circulatory disorders, Hawthorn can be tried. A tincture made from the berries is available from herbalists, the dosage being 5 - 12 drops three times a day. An infusion of the blossoms, made just as the buds are opening, acts as a mild heart tonic. Use two tablespoonfuls of the buds to one cup of boilingwater, and take a cup twice a day. This can also be taken as a preventive treatment against atherosclerosis, or fatty degeneration of the heart. Cardiac patients are, however, advised to be in the care of a competent practitioner. |
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