Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna
Family · Rosaceae · Harmless
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The white thorn of hedgerows, flowering in May as if snow had been thrown over it and loaded with red berries in October.
Oak woods · Roadsides and waste ground · Uplands · Fields and pasture
Also known asmay, whitethorn
How to tell it
A small leaf with deep lobes, cut almost to the middle. Stiff thorns on the branches. White flowers in clusters, sweetly and cloyingly scented. Red berries with a single stone.
What it is confused with
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
Both thorny and white-flowered. Blackthorn flowers before it has leaves, in February, and bears dark blue fruit; hawthorn flowers in May with leaves out, and bears red fruit.
Open sheet →What it is for
The berries are edible, with little flesh and a big stone, and make jelly. Flower and fruit have a long tradition in European folk medicine and are today studied for cardiovascular effects, which is context and not an indication.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.