Crataegus monogyna - Hawthorn

This is the Common Hawthorn so familiar in the countryside all over Britain. Probably best known as a country hedge, it also makes an excellent small garden tree with good wildlife value. Another common name is Quickthorn because it quickly makes a very effective, dense and thorny stock-proof hedge, and has been grown for hundreds of years for this purpose.

Site and soil

Hawthorn will grow in any soil except an outright bog. It is very tough and hardy and cope well with strong winds on exposed hillsides and coastal sites.

Height and spread

After 10 years: 4m x 3m
After 20 years: 8m x 5m

Leaf and bark

The leaves are ovate, and glossy dark green, and deeply lobed, rather like an Oak, and about 5cm long. The bark is a greyish dark brown, cracked into thin rectangular plates.

Flower, seed and fruit

The five-petalled creamy white flowers are borne in flat clusters of 6-12. They are strongly scented. These are followed by greenish berries, or haws, which ripen to red by September and are held on the tree well into winter to provide a good food source for birds. Each haw contains a single seed.

Uses

Hawthorn is most often used as an agricultural stock-proof hedge, but also makes a good garden hedge in country areas. It is an attractive small garden tree, pretty in blossom and fruit, and is an essential part of woodland planting.

The wood, which is very hard, has been used to make small articles, and boxes and combs were made from the roots. A liqueur can be made from the mealy berries, which are known as ‘Bread and Cheese’ and sometimes eaten by country children. Hawthorn provides a rootstock for pears and medlars. Medicinally, it is an important plant used to improve the action of the heart.

Hawthorn is surrounded by legend and superstition, and the flowers were the centre of May Day celebrations.

Wildlife

Insects pollinate the flowers, attracted to them by the scent. Both trees and hedges are good nesting sites for birds, and the berries provide winter food for Blackbirds, Thrushes, Fieldfares and Waxwings. Insects shelter in the crevices of the bark, making a further food source for birds.