Common Hawthorn's glorious white blossom lights up the countryside in late spring, among the last to appear after Cherry Plum and Blackthorn. Its strong thorns keep livestock from straying, especially when traditionally laid. Also known as Quickthorn (or Quick), Whitethorn and Maythorn.
Native to north-western Europe including Britain and Ireland, ranging east to Russia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan, and to coastal North Africa. Very widely distributed in Britain and Ireland, found everywhere except the highest mountains and the wet peats of northern Scotland.
Monoecious, with hermaphrodite flowers. Insect-pollinated. Fruit a pome. Bird-distributed. Long-lived (700 years).
Small (10-15m), bushy. Bark brown, scaly-ridged. Twigs olive to red-brown, with sharp thorns (2-3cm). Leaves small (4-6cm), dark glossy and mostly glabrous, obovate, with 3-5 deep lobes (at least halfway to the midrib). Flowers in round corymbs (6-12), in May, white or sometimes pink, with 20 stamens, red anthers and a single style. Crimson haws contain a single nutlet. Midland Hawthorn differs: shallow lobes, 2-3 styles, 2-3-seeded fruit.
Readily grown from seed and able to be layered. Often the principal hedgerow species, traditionally favoured to control livestock, especially when laid for thick bases and dense sides, and tolerant of frequent hard cutting. It regenerates well, helping woodland edges expand even under moderate grazing, and often shelters young oaks from browsing. Flailing hedges for 'tidiness' is discouraged, as it greatly reduces flowers and fruit. The species has deep cultural significance in May Day celebrations and Green Man imagery.
Its huge crops of haws hang well into winter, a vital food source in hard times, sustaining resident birds and winter visitors such as Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), Redwing (T. iliacus) and Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). Small mammals shelter in its thorny thickets and eat its spring foliage. Many moths associate with it, such as the Hawthorn Moth (Scythropia crataegella), whose larvae mine the leaves then spin a protective web to pupate.
Generally free of pests and pathogens.
Besides controlling livestock and marking boundaries, its timber is hard and tough, though rarely available large; it was used for mallet heads and mill-wheel cog teeth. The pale, pinkish heartwood is used as cabinetry inlay and prized by carvers and turners, while low stems once made cudgels, quarterstaffs and walking sticks. Its firewood is highly calorific, and its foliage was eaten in spring as 'bread and cheese' and fed to livestock.
