Common hawthorn

In nature , the species range covers almost the entire territory of Europe . In Russia, it does not occur wildly, but it is often cultivated in the middle lane and in the south.

It grows in shrubbery, fringes, in rare deciduous and pine forests, in river banks, on talus and outcrops, especially well on heavy clay soils. It is confined mainly to areas with a pronounced marine climate.

It grows slowly, shade-tolerant, drought-tolerant, hardy. A known specimen of this species aged over 400 years, having 2.5 m in girth ^[2] .

The common hawthorn is a large shrub or small tree with an asymmetrical crown , reaching a height of 3-8 m, rarely up to 12 m. The bark of the old branches is light gray; branches olive or reddish brown; young shoots are soft-hairy, later naked. Spines 0.6–2.5 cm long, few in cultural specimens, sometimes there are also leafy spines.

The kidneys are ovoid-rounded, 2-3 mm long. The leaves are bare, thin, paper-like at the beginning, then rather dense, dark green on the upper side, light green on the bottom, obovate in outline, 2-6 cm long, 2-5 cm wide; the lower leaves are whole, only dentate at the apex, the rest are three-lobed, the lobes are more often obtuse, less often are islands, town-like, dentate, less often are dentate, the middle is sometimes three-notched; on non-fruiting shoots - larger, wider and more deeply dissected, 3-5 separate. Petioles are felt-pubescent, 0.8–2.0 cm long.

Inflorescences are upright, rare, 6-12-flowered, with long bare axes and pedicels . Flowers with a diameter of 1.2-1.5 cm, white or pink; sepals wide, oval-triangular, open; stamens 18-20, with red anthers ; columns 2, rarely 3.

Fruits are ellipsoidal, ovoid or almost spherical, vaguely granular, red or red-brown in color, less often yellow or whitish, 7-10 mm in diameter, juicy. The bones are 2-3, up to 7 mm long, 5-6 mm wide, convex, with 2-3 grooves on the dorsal side and flat, sinuous grooved on the ventral side.

Flowering in May - June. Fruiting since August.

Ursolic , chlorogenic , tartaric , caffeic and citric acids, β-sitosterol , saponins and flavonoids , ascorbic acid , carotene , tannins and bitter substances , sorbitol , choline , acetylcholine and fatty oil were found in the fruits.

The leaves and flowers contain chlorogenic, coffee, categus and a number of other acids, flavonoids, hyperoside , quercetin , vitexin , essential oil (up to 0.2%), trimethylamine .

Amigdalin glycoside and fatty oil were found in seeds, and esculin was found in the cortex ^[3] .

The fruits collected after frost are consumed both fresh and canned (candied). They are used as fillings for pies , go to make jam , jelly , stewed fruit , substitutes for coffee and tea . Dried fruit flour is used in the baking industry to make vitamin bread with a fruity flavor.

From the bark of hawthorn receive red, brown and yellow dyes for fabrics.

It has long been widely used as an ornamental plant in gardens and parks, and high-stem forms also in alley plantings. It tolerates haircut and shaping; due to its large shoot-forming ability, it is a valuable breed for hedges .

Honey plants are readily visited by bees, give nectar and pollen .

Application in traditional medicine

The use of hawthorn for medicinal purposes has been known since the time of Dioscorides ^[4] .

Fruits and flowers are used in folk medicine for rheumatism , edema , atherosclerosis , increased thyroid function , migraine , mental disorders in the menopause, epilepsy , hypertension .

The bark of young branches, collected in early spring, is an anti-febrile and astringent , as well as with diarrhea .

Scientific Medicine Application

In modern medicine, preparations of prickly hawthorn (obtained from ripe fruits and inflorescences at the beginning of flowering) are used as a tool that has a stimulating effect on the heart muscle and in functional disorders of cardiac activity. Clinical trials have established that a liquid extract of fruits and inflorescences reduces blood pressure , improves performance , reduces pain, relieves a feeling of heaviness and constriction in the heart.

Hawthorn is prescribed for angioneurosis , myasthenia gravis , angina pectoris , as a good remedy for insomnia due to nervous excitement, atrial fibrillation and paroxysmal tachycardia , hyperthyroidism with tachycardia.

Fruit extract is part of the complex preparation “ Cardiovalen ”, used for rheumatic heart diseases, cardiosclerosis , angina pectoris, autonomic neurosis.

Taxonomy

In the past it was widely known as Crataegus oxyacantha .

Species The common hawthorn is a member of the genus Hawthorn ( Crataegus ) of the tribe Pyreae of the subfamily Spiraea ( Spiraeoideae ) of the family Pink ( Rosaceae ) of the order Rosaceae .

Representatives

Within the framework of the species, a number of forms are distinguished: ^[2]

• Crataegus laevigata f. rubra S.K. Schneid. - the flowers are dark red with a white center;
• Crataegus laevigata f. splendens S.K. Schneid. - flowers are bright red, double;
• Crataegus laevigata f. alba plena Rehd. - flowers are white, double, later turning pink;
• Crataegus laevigata f. Candida plena Spaeth - white, double flowers that do not change color;
• Crataegus laevigata f. rosea loud. - pink flowers with a white center;
• Crataegus laevigata f. punicea lodd. - flowers are dark red;
• Crataegus laevigata f. Gireoudii Spath - young leaves are white-mottled with a pink tint.

• Poyarkova A. I. Genus 733. Hawthorn - Crataegus L. // Flora of the USSR : in 30 tons / chap. ed. V.L. Komarov . - M .; L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1939. - T. 9 / ed. volumes S.V. Yuzepchuk . - S. 437. - 540, XIX p. - 5200 copies.
• Poletiko O. M. Rod. 26. Hawthorn - Crataegus L. // Trees and shrubs of the USSR. Wild, cultivated and promising for introduction. / Ed. volumes S. Ya. Sokolov . - M. - L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1954. - T. III. Angiosperms. Trochodendron families - Rosaceae. - S. 544-546. - 872 s. - 3000 copies.
• Dudchenko L.G., Koziakov A.S., Krivenko V.V. Spicy-aromatic and spicy-flavoring plants: Reference book / Otv. ed. K. M. Sytnik. - K .: Naukova Dumka , 1989 .-- 304 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-12-000483-0 .

• Flora Europaea: Crataegus (English)
• Common hawthorn, or prickly