Hawthorn

As pome fruit plants within the rose family genus, hawthorns appear either as shrubs or small trees. They basically call the entire temperate climate zones of the northern hemisphere their home. In Germany, there are only two native species: the Two-Styled and the Single-Styled Hawthorn. In total, up to 1000 different varieties are said to exist, mainly growing in North America – however, even botanists find them difficult to distinguish from each other.

Their lavish variety of blossoms makes hawthorns popular as ornamental plants. In the wild, they prefer sunny spots at forest edges and amidst bushes. Look for a moderately dry, loamy to clayey soil for planting. The preferred nutrient and acidity levels depend on the species, but overall hawthorns are very undemanding and adapt well to the given soil conditions.

The effects of hawthorns depend on their species. Some varieties are very popular in natural medicine and are supportive for the heart and blood vessels. Additionally, their fruits can be consumed.

The valuable components of hawthorns naturally vary from variety to variety. Proven important are flavonols, mainly oligomeric procyanidins and rutin, as well as glycosidic flavones like vitexin. Their fruits contain vitamins.

Hawthorns are either medium-sized shrubs or small trees that grow five to seven meters tall. Hawthorn trees form rounded, wide-spreading crowns with dense branching. As their name suggests, the plant has thorns. The leaves are rather elongated and oval, sometimes turning yellow to carmine red in autumn.

May and June bring hawthorns a wealth of white to pale pink flowers; in rare cases reddish. The perennial woody plant also bears small red stone fruits.

Hawthorn is a plant genus surrounded by myths and legends. It is said to primarily ward off evil – and in our cultural area to be a home for elves. In the past, people placed a hawthorn branch in the window to protect their children from witches, and wove fabrics and hair into a hawthorn bush to encourage the elves living there to do good deeds. Cribs made of hawthorn wood were supposed to protect newborns from being swapped or cursed by an evil fairy, as we know from the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty.