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Identifying Hawthorn - Crataegus monogyna
Sometimes known as Quickthorn, Whitethorn or May, Hawthorn was much planted at the time of the Enclosures (which started in Tudor times). Hawthorn-rich hedges offer food for many insect species and a home for many birds and small mammals. Hawthorn wood is hard and prized for its grain.
Leaf
Simple leaves that are roughly as broad as they are long. They are small and deeply lobed, so that each leaf almost looks divided.
Buds, Bark and Stem
Very young stems are reddish in colour, and the younger twigs have spikes or thorns along them hence its name! The bark is brown with occasional orange cracks.
Flowers and Fruits
Hawthorn usually flowers in early Spring, this is known as ‘May Blossom’. The tree or bush is covered with a profusion of small, white flowers.
The flowers appear after the leaves on Hawthorn, whereas on Blackthorn the flowers appear on bare branches before the leaves. The midland hawthorn (Crataegus leavigata) may have pink flowers. In the autumn, the flowers form 1cm long dark red berry-like fruits known as ‘haws’.
Winter Twigs
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