Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
This is a great little tree which is very common in hedge
rows. It is a very useful resource.
Food.
This tree has an edible berry which can persist through the
winter if the birds don’t eat them first. The pip is hard and should be
discarded. The young leaves are also edible. Hawthorn thickets are a great
place to trap, as rabbits feel safe in them. You can make fishing hooks,
harpoon points from the green thorns, the dead ones are too brittle to be of
use. Good for throwing sticks too.
Materials
The hawthorn burns very well when seasoned and created nice
embers for cooking. You can usually find a lot of kindling branches under the
crown, still attached, dead and dry. The wood is hard and dense and has been
used for walking sticks and cudgels/priests. The wood has quite short fibres so
is not good in flex.
