Midland Hawthorn, Smooth hawthorn, English Hawthorn
Crataegus laevigata

Family: Rosaceae

What it is like

Bloom Color: Lavender, Pink, White. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Oval, Pyramidal.

Crataegus laevigata is a deciduous Shrub growing to 6 m (19ft) by 6 m (19ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Midges. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Height (m): 6

Where it is found

Woods, hedges, thickets etc on clays and heavy loams, especially in E. Britain. Where found in hedges it is often as a relict of ancient woodland.

Europe, including Britain, from Sweden to Spain, eastwards to Poland.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Balkans, Bosnia, Britain*, Europe, India, Lithuania, North Africa, Slovakia, Turkey,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

Fruit - raw or cooked. A dry and mealy texture, they are not very appetizing. The fruit can be used for jams and preserves. The fruit pulp can be dried, ground into a meal and mixed with flour in making bread etc. The fruit is about 1cm in diameter. There are up to five fairly large seeds in the centre of the fruit, these often stick together and so the effect is of eating a cherry-like fruit with a single seed. Young leaves and young shoots - raw. A tasty nibble, they are nice in a salad. Young leaves are a tea substitute. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

Coffee: the various substitutes that can be used instead of coffee.

Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.

Medicine

Rating: 5

Hawthorn is an extremely valuable medicinal herb. It is used mainly for treating disorders of the heart and circulation system, especially angina. Western herbalists consider it a 'food for the heart', it increases the blood flow to the heart muscles and restores normal heart beat. This effect is brought about by the presence of bioflavonoids in the fruit, these bioflavonoids are also strongly antioxidant, helping to prevent or reduce degeneration of the blood vessels. The fruit is antispasmodic, cardiac, diuretic, sedative, tonic and vasodilator. Both the fruits and flowers of hawthorns are well-known in herbal folk medicine as a heart tonic and modern research has borne out this use. The fruits and flowers have a hypotensive effect as well as acting as a direct and mild heart tonic. They are especially indicated in the treatment of weak heart combined with high blood pressure, they are also used to treat a heart muscle weakened by age, for inflammation of the heart muscle, arteriosclerosis and for nervous heart problems. Prolonged use is necessary for the treatment to be efficacious. It is normally used either as a tea or a tincture. Hawthorn is combined with ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) to enhance poor memory, working by improving the blood supply to the brain. The bark is astringent and has been used in the treatment of malaria and other fevers. The roots are said to stimulate the arteries of the heart.

Antiarrhythmic: Helps restore normal rhythm and conduction

Antispasmodic: Relaxes muscular spasms and cramps, calming nervous irritation.

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Cardiotonic: A tonic for the heart.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Hypotensive: Reduces blood pressure, it is used in the treatment of high blood pressure

Malaria: Treats malaria - an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites spread to people through the bites of mosquitos.

Sedative: Gently calms, reducing nervousness, distress and irritation.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Vasodilator: Widens the blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure.

Other

Rating: 5

A good hedge plant, it is very tolerant of neglect and is able to regenerate if cut back severely, it makes a good thorny stock-proof barrier and resists very strong winds. It can be used in layered hedges. The plant is often used as a rootstock for several species of garden fruit such as the medlar (Mespilus germanica) and the pear (Pyrus communis sativa). Wood - very hard and tough but difficult to work. It has a fine grain and takes a beautiful polish but is seldom large enough to be of great value. It is used for tool handles and making small wooden articles etc. The wood is valued in turning and makes an excellent fuel, giving out a lot of heat, more so even than oak wood. Charcoal made from the wood is said to be able to melt pig iron without the aid of a blast.

Charcoal: Used for fuel, drawing, deodorant, filter, fertilizer etc.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Hedge: Plants that can be grown as hedges.

Rootstock: Plants used as the rootstock for grafting scions onto.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Attracts Wildlife: Plants noted for attracting wildlife

Espalier: A tree or other plant that is trained to grow flat against a support (such as a trellis or wall).

Hedge: Hedge

Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Border, Espalier, Pollard, Specimen, Street tree. A very easily grown plant, it prefers a well-drained moisture retentive loamy soil but is not at all fussy. Once established, it succeeds in excessively moist soils and also tolerates drought. It grows well on a chalk soil and also in heavy clay soils. A position in full sun is best when plants are being grown for their fruit, they also succeed in semi-shade though fruit yields and quality will be lower in such a position. Most members of this genus succeed in exposed positions, they also tolerate atmospheric pollution.. A true woodland species, it grows well in quite dense shade. A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least -18°c. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Closely allied to C. monogyna, it often hybridizes with that species in the wild when growing in its proximity. There are many named forms selected for their ornamental value. Seedling trees take from 5 - 8 years before they start bearing fruit, though grafted trees will often flower heavily in their third year. The flowers have a foetid smell somewhat like decaying fish. This attracts midges which are the main means of fertilization. When freshly open, the flowers have more pleasant scent with balsamic undertones. Seedlings should not be left in a seedbed for more than 2 years without being transplanted. An important food plant for the larvae of many lepidoptera species. Special Features:Not North American native, Blooms are very showy.

Propagating it: Seed - this is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame, some of the seed will germinate in the spring, though most will probably take another year. Stored seed can be very slow and erratic to germinate, it should be warm stratified for 3 months at 15°c and then cold stratified for another 3 months at 4°c. It may still take another 18 months to germinate. Scarifying the seed before stratifying it might reduce this time. Fermenting the seed for a few days in its own pulp may also speed up the germination process. Another possibility is to harvest the seed 'green' (as soon as the embryo has fully developed but before the seedcoat hardens) and sow it immediately in a cold frame. If timed well, it can germinate in the spring. If you are only growing small quantities of plants, it is best to pot up the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on in individual pots for their first year, planting them out in late spring into nursery beds or their final positions. When growing larger quantities, it might be best to sow them directly outdoors in a seedbed, but with protection from mice and other seed-eating creatures. Grow them on in the seedbed until large enough to plant out, but undercut the roots if they are to be left undisturbed for more than two years.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Secondary; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; not Deep Shade; Hedge;

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 4-8

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Crveni glog, England Hawthorn, May, Quickset, White thorn, Wuick set thorn,

Synonyms

C. oxyacantha. C. oxyacanthoides.