Hawthorn is a small tree with fruit called "haws", and branches armed with formidable thorns usually longer than an inch. The haws visually remind me of a cross between a tiny crabapple and a rosehip. (They are?) very edible, but there's more seed than pulp. The thorn visually reminds me of the distance I want to keep between me and it. By cutting off a pencil-thick branch two inches on either side of a stout thorn, I can obtain a handy awl for working soft leather.

There are well over 100 species (some say 1000) in North America. The leaves and fruit vary in size and shape but they all have thorns. Hawthorn look alot like their relatives the Apple trees. They easily grow in thickets rather than keeping to a single trunk. They attract many of the same bugs and disease as Apples, and can be used as grafting root stock for Apples and Pears. Another name (for the Hawthorn?) is the Thorn Apple.

As a medicine the haws are used the most, with the flowers also in common use. Known as a heart tonic since the days of the Ancient Greeks, extended us of Hawthorn usually lowers blood pressure by dilating blood vessels and regulating heart action. It can strengthen inflamed or weakened heart muscles, relieve angina pectoris, arteriosclerosis, general stress and less serious nervous conditions such as insomnia. It has been recommended for executives (child care workers?) under pressure and strain.

Other uses are as a sedative, a miscarriage preventative, a diarrhea remedy, a sore throat remedy, a diuretic for edema (and?) kidney and bladder problems, a cough and whooping cough remedy, and an anti-emetic. It is also used as a wine ingredient, which is in turn effective as a heart remedy.

For heart-related problems, infuse one teaspoon of flowers in one-half cup of water and drink one to one-and-a-half cups per day, a mouth full at a time. Or, soak one teaspoon of crushed fruit in one-half cup of cold water, let stand for 7 to 8 hours, bring quickly to a boil, strain and drink in the same manner as above. This should be followed steadily every day. Be aware of keeping doses small, as overdosing can cause nausea.

A decoction of the ripe fruit has been used to cure sore throat and to help (arrest?) diarrhea. Crush one cup of haws, boil with a cup of water for 10 minutes, strain, and sweeten with honey. For sore throat take a tablespoon at a time. For diarrhea take a wineglassful at a time (about a half-cup)>

A poultice of the pulped haws or leaves has strong drawing powers. It's long been used to treat embedded thorns (!), splinters and abscesses, particularly whitlows.

The haws are gathered when ripe, usually in autumn. They contain Vitamins B and C and good quantities of silica, and are often made into jellies and marmalades. Taking 4 to 6 (haws?) daily is said to help prevent a miscarriage during pregnancy; they're also eaten to slow the menses.

The flowers, gathered in early summer, contain "coumarin", and anti-coagulant, and are quite edible on their own.

The leaves have many of the same qualities as the haws and flowers, but are used less often, perhaps because they're not as strong. They obviously would be the item of choice when neither haws nor fruit are available.

A tea of the inner bark or twigs has been used as a native women's medicine (?), and for bladder and stomach troubles. The root bark tea has been drunk for general debility, back pain and "female weakness" (an unclear term(at best?)).

The buds have a tangy taste, often described as "pepper and salt" that makes them a pleasant addition to a spring salad just after they begin to open. This would provide an excellent "spring tonic".

The seeds and fruit were used by certain Iroquois People in bread-making, and were crushed and dried for storage for this purpose.

Being such a "pasture weed", cattle and deer readily browse the young growth. Over 36 kinds of birds, the gray fox and probably many other animals eat the haws.