Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines: Hawthorn, Crataegus

…. This is a big one!

There are seventy-eight varieties of Hawthorn used in herbal medicine: Crataegus acclivis, Crataegus aestivalis - Eastern Mayhaw, Crataegus altaica - Altai Mountain Thorn, Crataegus anomala, Crataegus apiifolia - Parsley-Leaved Hawthorn, Crataegus aprica, Crataegus armena, Crataegus arnoldiana, Crataegus atrosanguinea, Crataegus azarolus – Azarole, Crataegus baroussana, Crataegus caesa, Crataegus calpodendron – Pear Hawthorn, Crataegus canadensis, Crataegus canbyi, Crataegus coccinoides - Kansas Hawthorn, Crataegus columbiana - Columbian Hawthorn, Crataegus crus-galli - Cockspur Thorn, Crataegus cuneata– Sanzashi, Crataegus dilatate, Crataegus dispessa, Crataegus douglasii - Black Hawthorn, Crataegus durobrivensis, Crataegus ellwangeriana, Crataegus elongate, Crataegus festiva, Crataegus flabellate, Crataegus flava - Summer Haw, Crataegus gemosa, Crataegus heterophylla, Crataegus holmesiana, Crataegus hupehensis, Crataegus champlainensis, Crataegus chlorosarca, Crataegus chrysocarpa - Fireberry Hawthorn, Crataegus illinoiensis, Crataegus intricate, Crataegus jackii, Crataegus jonesiae, Crataegus laciniata, Crataegus laevigata - Midland Hawthorn, Crataegus lobulata - Red Haw, Crataegus macrosperma - Big- Fruit Hawthorn, Crataegus maximowiczii, Crataegus meyeri, Crataegus missouriensis, Crataegus monogyna, Crataegus nigra - Hungarian Hawthorn, Crataegus opaca - Western Mayhaw, Crataegus parvifolia, Crataegus pedicellata - Scarlet Haw, Crataegus pedicellata gloriosa - Scarlet Haw, Crataegus pensylvanica, Crataegus phaenopyrum - Washington Thorn, Crataegus pinnatifida - Chinese Haw, Crataegus pinnatifida major - Chinese Haw, Crataegus pontica, Crataegus pringlei, Crataegus pruinosa - Frosted Hawthorn, Crataegus pubescens – Manzanilla, Crataegus pubescens stipulacea – Manzanilla, Crataegus punctata - Dotted Hawthorn, Crataegus reverchonii - Reverchon's Hawthorn, Crataegus rivularis - River Hawthorn, Crataegus rotundifolia, Crataegus sanguinea, Crataegus schraderiana, Crataegus songorica, Crataegus stipulosa, Crataegus submollis - Quebec Hawthorn, Crataegus subvillosa, Crataegus succulenta, Crataegus szovitskii, Crataegus tanacetifolia - Tansy-Leaved Thorn, Crataegus uniflora, Crataegus x grignonensis

Native to my region are: Crataegus aestivalis (May Hawthorn, Mayhaw), Crataegus alabamensis (Alabama Hawthorn) , Crataegus alleghaniensis (Alleghany Hawthorn), Crataegus aprica (Sunny Hawthorn), Crataegus berberifolia var. berberifolia (Barberry Hawthorn), Crataegus berberifolia var. engelmannii (Barberry Hawthorn), Crataegus boyntonii (Boynton Hawthorn), Crataegus buckleyi (Buckley Hawthorn), Crataegus calpodendron (Pear Hawthorn), Crataegus coccinea (Scarlet Hawthorn), Crataegus collina (Chapman's Hill-thorn), Crataegus colonica, Crataegus craytonii (Crayton Hawthorn), Crataegus crus-galli var. crus-galli (Cockspur Hawthorn), Crataegus crus-galli var. pyracanthifolia, Crataegus dodgei (Dodge Hawthorn), Crataegus flabellata (Fanleaf Hawthorn), Crataegus intricata var. boyntonii (Boynton Hawthorn), Crataegus intricata var. intricata (Entangled Hawthorn), Crataegus intricata var. biltmoreana (Entangled Hawthorn), Crataegus iracunda (Red Hawthorn), Crataegus lassa (Sandhill Hawthorn), Crataegus macrosperma (Bigfruit Hawthorn), Crataegus marshallii (Parsley Hawthorn), Crataegus munda, Crataegus pallens, Crataegus phaenopyrum (Washington Hawthorn), Crataegus pruinosa (Frosted Hawthorn), Crataegus punctata (Dotted Hawthorn), Crataegus schuettei (Schuette's Hawthorn), Crataegus senta, Crataegus spathulata (Littlehip Hawthorn), Crataegus succulenta (Fleshy Hawthorn), Crataegus viridis (Green Hawthorn), Crataegus visenda

As you can see, we have a LOT of Hawthorns! But, we only have one in shrub form, Crataegus uniflora (One-flowered Hawthorn, Dwarf Hawthorn).

Although, these days, Hawthorn is often relegated to being a landscaping plant useful in keeping out intruders, or used for its fruit to make a rustic jam by too few people, Hawthorn is one of the most storied and useful plants used in herbal medicine.

Said to be both the wood that made the staff of Saint Joseph, and the thorns from Which the crown of Jesus was woven, Hawthorn has become a symbol of the Catholic Church. Early Christians decorated with Hawthorn as a type of Christmas tree.

Dioscorides wrote:

Crataeogonon (also called crateonon) has leaves similar to melampyrum, many knotty shoots growing out of one root, and a seed similar to millet. It grows for the most part in shady and shrubby places, and it is extremely sharp. It is said by some that drinking the seed causes a woman to bring forth a male child, if after the cleansing of the menstrual flow and before the time of sexual intercourse, she drinks three times a day (while fasting) thirty grains with two cups of water for forty days, and lets the man drink it similarly for as many days and then lie with her.

In Culpepper’s time, the Hawthorn was so commonly planted and used that he states:

It is not my intention to trouble you with a description of this tree, which is so well known that it needs none. It is ordinarily but a hedge bush, although being pruned and dressed, it grows to a tree of a reasonable height.

As for the Hawthorn Tree at Glastonbury, which is said to flower yearly on Christmas-day, it rather shews the superstition of those that observe it for the time of its flowering, than any great wonder, since the like may be found in divers other places of this land; as in Whey-street in Romney Marsh, and near unto Nantwich in Cheshire, by a place called White Green, where it flowers about Christmas and May. If the weather be frosty, it flowers not until January, or that the hard weather be over.

Government and virtues. It is a tree of Mars. The seeds in the berries beaten to powder being drank in wine, are held singularly good against the stone, and are good for the dropsy. The distilled water of the flowers stay the lask. The seed cleared from the down, bruised and boiled in wine, and drank, is good for inward tormenting pains. If cloths or sponges be wet in the distilled water, and applied to any place wherein thorns and splinters, or the like, do abide in the flesh, it will notably draw them forth.

And thus you see the thorn gives a medicine for its own pricking, and so doth almost every thing Else.

Galen wrote:

The fruit of the Hawthorn tree is very astringent.

The haws or berries of the Hawthorn tree, as Dioscorides writeth, do both stay the lask, the menses, and all other fluxes of blood: some authors write, that the stones beaten to powder, and given to drink are good against the stone.

Dioscorides did, in fact, include Hawthorn in de Materia Medica, but his recommendation must be taken with a grain of salt as he said that Hawthorn consumed by a potential mother would ensure male children.

Mrs. Grieves listed the medicinal value of Hawthorn as:

Cardiac, diuretic, astringent, tonic. Mainly used as a cardiac tonic in organic and functional heart troubles. Both flowers and berries are astringent and useful in decoction to cure sore throats. A useful diuretic in dropsy and kidney troubles.

An Irish Herbal states:

The fruit is dry and astringent. It stops flows of extensive menstruation. The flowers are very good for breaking up stone in the kidneys and bladder.

The Lumbee used Hawthorn:

The Lumbee used an infusion of Hawthorn leaves, flowers, and haws (dried fruits) as a cardiac and circulatory tonic. Some lumbee healers recommended Hawthorn to treat heart disease they deduced had been caused by kidney problems, arterial spasms, irregular heartbeat or thickening of the heart walls. …. The Lumbee thought that Hawthorn controlled both high and low blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels and improving the pumping action of the heart. Some Lumbee used the leaves as a substitute for tobacco and tea. The roasted seeds were ground into a type of coffee. Local healers used a bark tea to promote good circulation and prevent current spasms. Reportedly. The berries were eaten by some Lumbee to increase appetite.

Jethro Kloss wrote:

HAWTHORN (Crataegus oxyacantha)

Common Names: English hawthorn, May bush, May tree, quick-set, thorn-apple tree, whitethorn, haw.

Part Used: Flowers, dried berries.

Medicinal Properties: Antispasmodic, sedative, tonic.

Description and Uses: This herb is very good when treating either high or low blood pressure by strengthening the action of the heart. Helps many blood pressure problems. The tea is good for nervous tension and sleeplessness. Take one or two capsules daily. Make an infusion by steeping one teaspoonful of the flowers in one-half cup of water. Take one or two cups a day, taking only a swallow at a time. May be sweetened with honey if desired.

Plants for A Future states:

The fruits and flowers of hawthorns are well-known in herbal folk medicine as a heart tonic and modern research has borne out this use. The fruits and flowers have a hypotensive effect as well as acting as a direct and mild heart tonic. They are especially indicated in the treatment of weak heart combined with high blood pressure. Prolonged use is necessary for it to be efficacious. It is normally used either as a tea or a tincture. The fruit is anodyne, anticholesterolemic, antidiarrhetic, antidysenteric, astringent, blood tonic, cardiotonic, haemostatic and stomachic. It is used in the treatment of dyspepsia, stagnation of fatty food, abdominal fullness, retention of lochia, amenorrhoea, postpartum abdominal pain, hypertension and coronary heart disease.

All varieties of hawthorn can be used. It may be harvested twice in a season - fresh, flowing tips, then ripe berries. Hawthorn is recognized as being good for irregularities of the heart. It dilates, strengthens and improves coronary arteries. It is good for over-exertion when we surpass the imitations of our age or fitness. Hawthorn is good for arrhythmia and good for angina. Hawthorn is especially good for the middle aged. Many herbalists believe that Hawthorn may be used as alternative to digitalis, or even used together, so one can use less digitalis.

The Rodale Herb Book states:

Aside from ornamental uses, hawthorn has been valued as a heart tonic, and this value has been increasingly studied in recent years. Promising results have been reported in connection with a variety of heart ailments, including angina pectoris and abnormal heart action. It is also said to be effective in stemming arteriosclerosis, commonly known as hardening of the arteries.

Doses range from 3 to 15 grains, 3 to 4 times daily. But, the powder may also be made into a tincture by combining a pint of grain alcohol land an ounce of hawthorn berry powder. The tincture is given in doses ranging from 1 to 15 drop. Though non-toxic, hawthorn can produce dizziness if taken in large doses.

Hawthorne has also been used in treating arthritis and rheumatism, and for emotional stress in nervous conditions.

The Physicians’ Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine tells us:

Crataegus is a well-studied herb for use in cardiovascular disease. Historically, it has been used for congestive heart failure, commonly in combination with cardiac glycosides as it may potentiate their effects, thereby reducing the dose of cardiac glycoside drugs. The use of Crataegus in hypertension, arterial sclerosis, and hyperlipidemia is well documented. The active principles are procyanidins in flavonoids, which cause an increase in coronary blood flow due to dilatory effects, resulting in an improvement of myocardial blood flow. The drug is positively inotropic and positively chronotropic. The cardiac effect of contagious is said to be caused by the increased membrane permeability for calcium as well as the inhibition phosphodiesterase with an increase of intracellular cyclo-AMP concentrations. Increased coronary and myocardial circulatory perfusion and reduction in peripheral vascular resistance were observed. High dose may cause sedation. This effect has been attributed to the old oligomeric procyanidins.

Cretaceous extract has been found to prolong the refractory period and increase the action potential duration in Guinea pig papillary muscle. One study demonstrated that a Crataegus extract blocked the repolarizing potassium currents in ventricular myocytes of Guinea pigs. This effect is similar to that of class 3 antiarrhythmic drugs and may explain the antiarrhythmic effect of Hawthorne. Crataegus, due to its high flavonoid content may also be used to decrease inflammation, decrease capillary fragility, and prevent collagen destruction of the joints.

PS. New in my Woodcraft Shop: 

Cawl Spoon #1 

Cawl Spoon #1

This article is an excerpt from 

Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide

Read about Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.html

Available for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2T4Y5L6: by Judson Carroll

His New book is:

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Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide 

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Growing Your Survival Herb Garden for Preppers, Homesteaders and Everyone Else

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The Encyclopedia of Bitter Medicinal Herbs:

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Christian Medicine, History and Practice:

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Look Up: The Medicinal Trees of the American South, An Herbalist's Guide

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The Herbs and Weeds of Fr. Johannes Künzle:

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Author: Judson Carroll. Judson Carroll is an Herbalist from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

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Disclaimer

The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.