Hawthorn: Tell Me More
We are seeing the bright fruit of hawthorn everywhere lately and have seen some on organic land. We most likely will easily be able to get access to harvest them.
Tell me more. When is the best time to harvest the berries, leaves (I read use only young ones), flowers (buds, young, are old not okay)? It is fall here & our first frost is likely tomorrow night. What do we need to be careful about (seeds, other)? When do we remove the seeds, before or after cooking?
About preservation: How do you go about doing a tincture? Do you leave the seeds in or remove them?
I know a little about hawthorn, but I want you to pretend that I know absolutely nothing about this shrub. Teach me everything you know. I want to do this right.
I found these recipes below, including jelly, but still prefer answers and input from all of you here.
Thanks!
Comments
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I don’t know any more than you do, probably less.
I identified a big shrubby tree near my driveway as a black Hawthorn recently. We have a Saskatoon on the other side of the drive and my hubby kept trying to tell me the Hawthorn was another. 🤦🏼♀️ Anyway...I tasted the fruit, but haven’t considered using it for anything yet. Now that my husband knows it is a Hawthorn he is leaning towards cutting it down-he doesn’t want such nasty thorns growing near our driveway.
I am curious to hear how others make use of hawthorns.
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I have two species of Hawthorn here. Crataegus columbiana (red fruit) and Crataegus douglasii (black fruit). But there is some genetic confusion around these species. C. columbiana may be C. piperi or may be just a red variant of C. douglasii. More DNA research needs to be done to positively identify these Crataegus species. Both are common but the black ones might be more common. Sometimes you will find a patch of nothing but red or nothing but black but you can also find red ones and black ones growing side by side. European Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, may also be found in some areas where it has escaped from plantings (in this part of the world that includes southern BC, Washington and Oregon). It has red fruit and will hybridize with local species making identification even more difficult.
Hawthorn has diuretic, astringent, antispasmodic, mildly sedative and cardiotonic properties. Hawthorn acts by dilating and relaxing the blood vessels but more than that, it actually helps to tone and strengthen all of the circulatory system, so is good for low blood pressure as well as high. High blood pressure is generally the reason that people start to take Hawthorn. Sometimes it may take awhile to notice improvement in blood pressure but some may notice an immediate improvement.
There are few contraindications with Hawthorn but you should use caution if you are taking any hypo-tensive medications as your blood pressure could drop too much. Monitor your blood pressure closely when starting on any herbal preparations that affect blood pressure. Not for use during pregnancy. Not for use in children.May cause dizziness at higher doses.
There are generally two preparations that people make with Hawthorn. One method just involves the fruit. Macerate the fresh (1:1) or dried (1:4) fruit in a high percentage alcohol (95% if you have it) for 4-6 weeks and strain. The second method involves gathering flowers, young leaves and fresh twigs in the spring, which is infused in alcohol for 4-6 weeks, strained and then the fruit is infused in the same alcohol for 4-6 weeks. So this process takes in the whole growing season.
At the moment, I have a jar full of fresh berries (black ones) soaking as a tincture (no flowers or leaves). I have never used fresh before so a new experiment for me. I was thinking that with some honey added it would probably make a lovely cordial. Patient compliance. :) :) I see that the article has mentioned a hawthorn schnapps.
It is the flowers and leaves that have the diuretic properties so this will help with any dropsy or edema that may accompany hypertension. So that would be a reason to make the second preparation method. You could use an infusion of the flowers and leaves as a diuretic for edema or kidney issues. A 1/2 cup of infusion of the leaves can help relieve bloating after a meal, particularly after fatty food. A cooled decoction of the leaves and twigs could be used as a gargle for sore throats. A decoction of the berries can help with diarrhea.
Rosalee has an excellent recipe for Apple & Berry Concentrate in Wild Remedies. It boils down apple juice with hawthorn berries and blueberries. This makes an amazing beverage when added to club soda. I have made ice cubes with it and put these in a water thermos with club soda for my husband when he is out working hard. He loves it.
You can use the fruit in jellies, although, I have never done that. They must be particularly high in pectin, as according to the article, the fruit will start to jell without cooking. Apparently it can also be made into wine but most things can be made into wine. I think it would need added sugar. I have read that the berries can be dried and then ground into a flour like consistency. The fruit is edible raw, but dry and rather mealy; more of a survival food.
The thorns were also harvested by First Nations and used as awls or piercing tools or as medical tools for removing slivers or lancing boils or blisters.
Other questions?
No worries about leaving the seeds in. They are usually strained out of any preparation. I don't think the seeds are as dangerous as made out in the article. They will have similar cyanogenic compounds as most members of the rose family such as apples but seeds are usually removed before consumption. I have eaten raw hawthorns without any negative effects. I see there are other comments at the bottom of the article, also commenting that fruit has been eaten without side effects.
They should still be OK after a frost, maybe even a bit sweeter like rose hips. I harvested mine a couple of weeks ago as I needed to get them before the bears did. Very popular fruit with the bears.
Leaves can be harvested in the spring or in the fall before turning colour.
I hope that illuminates Hawthorn a bit. Thanks for the questions and posing of the article @LaurieLovesLearning. I am looking forward to trying out some of the recipes (if I can find a patch that the bears have left, ha ha).
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Thanks @torey for such a good write up. I have two hawthorns that I will harvest from again this year. My berries are on the smallish side so I usually dry them and grind them to make tincture from. I did harvest some flowers and leaves in the spring and made tincture that I will add to the berry tincture later. My understanding and use is as a heart/circulatory tonic. As I age I want a good healthy heart to get things where they need to go!
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@torey You are welcome & thank you!
The bushes are absolutely loaded wherever we've gone this year. We certainly have no shortage of them.
Would pruners help pick them a little faster? Any tips for that? Maybe welding gloves for the thorns? Haha
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@LaurieLovesLearning I have harvested mine with small pruners and cut directly into a bucket. The thorns can be pretty deadly so do be careful and wear long sleeves. I don't use gloves because they are clumsy but that could be me. I usually can only reach the lower branches and leave the rest to the birds for migration and winter food. Mine are still green and won't be ready until October when it cools down. I just hope I beat the birds, they have already taken most of my rosehips.
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My herbalist had me start on hawthorn tincture a month or two ago. I think it has helped my circulation quite a bit, though it's hard to say since I'm on a lot of herbs! I don't even take that much of it.
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Just found this little info bite on @judsoncarroll4's study group for the SWSBM.
Crataegus, Hawthorn dilates coronary arteries and strengthens the heart. Improves resilience of cardiac artery - lessens likelihood of heart attack. Improves blood supply to heart. Lessens likelihood of clot, angina, etc.
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Yes, hawthorn is strong medicine - long use in Europe and associated with several saints and religious beliefs due to its efficacy. Saint Joseph's staff was supposed to be made of hawthorn. Christ's Crown of Thorns was said to have been made from hawthorn and the original Christmas trees used by Christians (as opposed to those further north who adopted Norse customs) may have been hawthorn. Lots of symbolism and lots of lore, but definitely good medicine. We have 3-4 wild haws in the South, the mayhaw being the most popular for jam and such.
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Great write ups on herbal uses of hawthorn-- that is why I am a member here!
The only thing I can add is that for two summers I college I was employed by the Washington State Department of Agriculture to inspect apple, crab apple, and hawthorn trees. They are all closely related, and all suffer mightily from the Apple Maggot.
A quick google shows that the University of Manitoba has a page on apple maggot, so it must be a concern up there for you. I would advise contacting a local extension agent to see if there have been any infestations in your area.
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@seasparrow32 This is a huge issue in our apples up here. That is what the worms were in some of the hawthorn berries then. Hmm. That's very disappointing.
What I know about the apple maggot is to pick the apples when slightly unripe to hopefully avoid the maggots. Unlike what the information says here, I was told that these hatch inside the seed area and eat their way out, causing all sorts of brown tunnels. These worms then drop to the ground and overwinter there, emerging again as moths in spring to lay eggs within the flower, which develops into the fruit and the cycle continues.
If you have apple maggots in one tree, you either spray it 3-6 times a year (my memory is cutting out there...ah, the article says 4), or pick your apples early, or cut the tree down and burn it, never planting another tree there again. If you do, your new tree will most likely become infested as well. The article claims 4 years to eradication, but that involves a lot of work that most aren't willing to put the effort into, & spray. People tend to be willing to rake up the fallen apples, but I think that they most likely never get all (some stepped on or maggots have already entered the ground).
The apples they pictured are really bad. Often the apple shows little damage until it is cut open. Even this year, I had people claim that their apples were not infested, only to get them home and find that most were not usable. That was extremely disappointing. I would not have invested the time nor money if I had known what shape they were in.
It makes me wonder how worth it it is then to collect hawthorn berries or if it is just best to ignore that the maggots are in there (yuck for me). Those infested berries showed no sign either until I opened them up.
Again...I am so disappointed.
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How unfortunate to have an apple maggot infestation! I haven't heard of that happening here. We have a couple of commercial orchards here but no word of any bugs. My hawthorns seem fine. In this area, our hawthorns and saskatoons both suffer from Quince rust disease. But it doesn't seem so prevalent this year. The hawthorns that I picked yesterday are lovely.
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I think we will still pick some. Maybe we will find a bush that is good. Like I said, there are many bushes loaded this year.
Quince rust? I will have to look that up. For quite a few years we had something odd on our saskatoon berries, kind of rusty colored & oddly textured. I never figured out what it was. It is gone now at least. I didn't see one berry with that this year, and we had lots of berries for a change.
We do have some maggots infesting nanking & raspberries. I can't remember the name of that fly, but if we pick early in the season, they don't appear to be developed at that time. They appear later on.
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@LaurieLovesLearning As I recall, Laura Ingalls Wilder said that Almanzo sprinkled wood ash and she kept the chickens in the apple orchard. That's what she credits for not having pests and diseases like her neighbors did. It's worth a try.
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@Annie Kate My organic certified neighbour tells me that she is not allowed to have any animals grazing (or foraging for bugs) in her orchard according to the organic regulations. Can't have any poop fertilizing those trees cause they might have E-coli or samonella.
I know someone else who isn't certified organic but just happened to have an agriculture inspector at her place for another reason and he told her under no circumstances should she be using manure tea on her strawberries for the same reason.
Mind boggling!
But at least us non-certified organic can get away with it. :)
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@torey So much for sensible regulations! What good organic, non-poop fertilizer is there? Veggie compost, I suppose? Non-certified seems to be the way to go, for sure.
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@torey That is very strange! I would think if the animals ate & were treated organic, that it sounds be okay...but none? Also, that idea of salmonella is very misplaced. Mice are known carriers & what tends to bring it into s coop. They are the spreaders. So, in my mind, they had better make sure that no mice go through or live amongst the plants!
The other thing is what animals are going to climb and contaminate orchard trees with poop? Sigh...some regulations are stupid.
I could see the manure tea thing as being legitimate because that is how a lot of commercial crops become contaminated is through pathogens from manure that contaminate the water.
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@LaurieLovesLearning It was very surprising to me as well. And I asked the question about what if the animals were being cared for and fed organically but still, no livestock allowed in any part of the orchard or garden.
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Another good reason to know your grower instead of worrying about organic certification. @LaurieLovesLearning, I was about to ask you why your first frost is coming soon, then I noticed you made that comment last September. What was a relief!
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@LaurieLovesLearning I looked it up and it does appear to be a bit of a grey area. You need to have a management plan in place. So it could be interpreted differently by different inspectors.
This is from the Q&A section of Canadian Organic Standards.
Does the presence of animal droppings in fields, orchards and vineyards require a waiting period as prescribed in 5.5.2.5? (31, 159)
5.5.2.5 does not apply to incidental animal droppings such as those from wild animals or birds, grazing or working animals; however, 5.5.2.4 (a) does apply and requires diligence on the part of the operator to ensure that any activities under his/her control do not cause pathogenic microbial contamination of the crop. 5.5.2.6 clearly states if livestock are part of the cropping or pest control program there has to be a management plan in place regarding manure-related contamination and the edible crop.
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@torey I think that that inspector's opinion could easily be challenged on this official statement alone. Grazing animals are not an issue in an orchard unless the orchard owner is picking up fruit from off of the ground or from very low lying plants.
I think that inspectors often forget the rules (on purpose or not), and know that most people will not be well enoughed versed on them to mount a challenge/appeal, and so people believe the inspector without asking for evidence to back up their opinion, & this is what happens.
I would be challenging it in this case, but wisely. Get everything recorded in writing and signed whenever possible. Most inspectors will not sign anything, which I find very interesting. I would challenge it only with witnesses, and also appeal to whomever is their official employer/supervisor.
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@LaurieLovesLearning They are an older couple and I don't think it they would think it worth their time and effort to challenge it at this point. They have been trying to find someone who would be willing to work the land in exchange for a share of the property but have had no luck. They aren't coming to the Farmers Market this year because of the extra work for them. If I were a bit younger I would take them up on the partnership but not at this point in my life. They will still be doing farm gate sales and, I hope, continuing to make their wonderful ACV. They get some community assistance for that.
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@torey Email me with more about this opportunity. We have a bit of interest, but could also pass it along to others that we know.
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@LaurieLovesLearning I will inquire as to whether they are still considering this. A lot depended on them being able to build a second residence on the property. As it is in BC's Agricultural Land Reserve, there are many restriction on buildings. They didn't want to put in a mobile home as is suggested for secondary residences. They wanted to build a eco-friendly frame house. I sat on the first phase of the advisory board and we made the recommendation to allow what they wanted but that was well over a year ago and the Commission that controls the ALR hasn't released its decision yet. Its so frustrating for young farmers to get established and out of the question for most of them to be able to afford the mortgage payments on the exhorbitant prices for a lot of the farm land. Then I drive through the Lower Mainland and see a giant Coors factory sitting on 10 acres of some of the best farm land in Canada cause breweries and wineries are allowed to build anything they want on farm land. I'd better stop here or I'll go on a real rant about this bureaucratic nightmare.
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I planted a Hawthorne tree several years ago--I can't remember which variety, but I think it's a Washington Hawthorne that I bought from a reputable, local nursery in my town. It has never bloomed and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to encourage it to bloom next spring?
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@bethtrujillo68 Welcome to the TGN forum!
I really don't know what the issue is. I do know that for the ones we actually planted, it did take several years before they would start to bloom. That fact is similar to many fruit trees. How many years have you waited?
When you get a chance, I would like to encourage you to check out the FAQ & Rules areas to become familiar with them & to post a short intro in the Introductions. By doing so, hopefully you can make some local connections through our knowledgeable group.
Below are some easy to use links to the areas that I mentioned above.
https://community.thegrownetwork.com/categories/introductions
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