Hawthorn Berries Materia Medica – General Shape: Bright red berries about the size of a thumb, dotted with white. It is usually sliced and dried into thick discs.
60% starch, 4% fat. Contains vitamin K, thiamin vitamin B1, riboflavin vitamin B2, vitamin B6, niacin vitamin B3, pantothenic acid, biotin, carotenoids.
Table of Contents
Hawthorn Berries Materia Medica
There are more than 100 different species of hawthorn trees growing worldwide, with seventeen varieties native to China and dozens of species native to the east coast of America. However, only one species that produces edible red hawthorn fruit is used in TCM, and it is the most widely cultivated species in China.
The Materia Medica Oracle Deck: Origins — Tenderheart Studio
Hawthorn berries are a staple in modern Chinese herbology and cuisine, but they have been known to the Chinese since at least the Zhou Dynasty. The berries are described in the Book of Rights and declared edible, although their medicinal benefits were not documented until the Tang Dynasty.
The famous Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen wrote in the authoritative Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu) that there was once a child in his village who suffered from frequent indigestion. His face would turn yellow, and his stomach would bloat like a drum after eating. Once, while he was tending his sheep, he rested under a hawthorn tree and ate berries until he was full. As a result of this happy accident, all the symptoms became relieved.
Candied hawthorn fruit (similar to caramelized apple) is a traditional Chinese street snack during the winter months, especially on the days around Chinese New Year. The hawthorn berries are fried and coated in melted rock sugar, then stuck onto a skewer, allowing the sugar to harden into a clear golden container. These skewers are colloquially called “pumpkin candy” (bing tang hu lu) because of their pumpkin-like shape.
Pumpkin candy is said to have originated as a court medicine during the Southern Song Dynasty. Legend has it that Emperor Song Guangzong’s favorite concubine suddenly fell ill. He completely lost his appetite, became thin, and his face became sunken and yellow.
I’d Really Rather Not Have Anxiety Right Now: Hawthorn And Motherwort Tea
The imperial doctors tried everything they could, using a large number of rare and previous medicines, but nothing worked, and the concubine was getting thinner and sicker by the day.
In desperation, the emperor posted notices all over China, searching for a cure. A traveling doctor answered the post. Arriving at the palace in his straw sandals and wrinkled staff, he took the concubine’s pulse, then said,
“Frying fresh hawthorn berries with brown sugar. Ask His Majesty to eat five to ten fruits before meals, and I promise he will be fully recovered in fifteen days.”
The imperial doctors complied, and sure enough, soon the concubine was healthy again, her beauty and figure restored.
With A Friend Like Hawthorn
Later, this medicine spread from the palace to the nobles, then to the commoners. And no wonder. Biting into the berries, the sugar crust cracked and melted on the tongue, and the mouth was flooded with the highly tart hawthorn juice softened by the rich sweetness of roasted sugar.
Nearly a millennium later, there are few things more exhilarating (or tantalizing) than seeing a vendor selling pumpkin candy on a street corner in winter, pomegranates gleaming brightly in the snow and gray.
Common Chinese Name: (gou qi zi) Common English Name: Ningxia goji berry; lycium fruit Scientific Name: Lycium barbarum Common Form: Rust red… Traditionally prized for its astringent properties, hawthorn is used to treat diarrhea, heavy menstrual bleeding and in first aid to pull out splinters.
Adams, J. & Tan, E. (2006). Making Herbs: How to Make Medicine from Plants. Preston: North Melbourne TAFE Printing Institute
Black Elderberry: Gaia Herbs®
Select Indications Acne Allergic Rhinitis Amenorrhea Anorexia Anorexia Anxiety Arthritis Asthma Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Bronchitis Burns Colic Common Cold Conjunctivitis Constipation Cough Healing Cystitis Weakness Depression Diabetes Diabetes Mellitus Diarrhea Dysentery Dysmenorrhea Dyspepsia Dysuria Eczema Epilepsy Stomachache Stomachache Gastritis Headache Ulcers IBS Gastritis influenza Insomnia, intestinal colic, jaundice, leg ulcers, loss of appetite, Menopause, menorrhagia, Migraine, thrush, nervous exhaustion, nervous tension, neuralgia, edema, palpitations, pleurisy, PMS, prostatitis, Psoriasis, restlessness, rheumatic conditions, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, sinusitis, skin disorders, sore throat, stress, tonsillitis, urethritis, urticaria, urticaria, urticaria UTIs
Adaptogenic Alterative Analgesic Anodyne Anthelmintic Anti-allergic Anti-asthmatic Anti-bacterial Anti-emetic Anti-fungal Anti-Inflammatory Anti-neoplastic Anti-Oxidant Anti-ulcer effect Anti-viral Antiarrhythmic Anti-cancer effects Anticatarrhal Antidepressants Antidiabetic Antifungal Antifungal Antihemorrhagic Antiparasitic E effects Iprostatic Antipyretic Antirheumatic Antiseptic Antispasmodic Antispasmodic Activity Antitumor Antitussive Anxiolytic Astringent Tonic Bitter Blood Tonic Cancer Protective Cardioprotective Carminative Carminative Catartic Cholegogue Choleretic Circulatory Stimulator Cognitive Function Cooling Demulcent Demulcent Depurative Diaphoretic Digestive Tonic Hypoglycemic Digestive Tonic Hypoglycemic Regulator Hypoglycemic Tonic Digestive Tonic Mild Diuretics Mild Laxatives Sedatives Mucoprotective Neuroprotective Tonics Ovarian Tonic Oxytocin Parturition Peparators Peripheral Vasodilators Purgative Rubefacient Sedative S ialagogue Spasmolytic Stimulator Stimulator Thermogenic Stiptic Laxative Thymoleptic Tonic Urine Herbal Medicine”, and while that’s true, this plant has much more to offer than being a troforetorative tonic for the heart muscle. Throughout the folds of Europe and magical medicine, Hawthorn is known as the protective and purifying herb of Hedge. The energetic and spiritual medicine of Hawthorn holds many healings for heart wounds as well.
Throughout Europe, the name is often a variation of “haw”, “hedge” or “white” followed by throne. In Swedish it is
It was – and still is – associated with the purification, cleansing, fertility and protection of the sacred.
Watered Today, I Was Pleasantly Surprised To Find That Several Hawthorn Trees Were Finally Blooming In The Middle Of 🌸 The Orchard. The Trees Next To It Are Already Bearing Fruit. They
The thorns are a reminder that there is protection against emotional vulnerability in hurting and having a sensitive and open heart.
A single Hawthorn in the British Isles is called the Fairy Tree, and it is considered bad luck to cut one down. Road construction in Ireland takes into account the presence of the Fairy Tree, if one is on the proposed path, the road will be diverted (sometimes a lot of cost and effort) so as not to have to remove Hawthorn.
Medically, Hawthorn is known as the “herb of the heart”. Most of the time I cringe so hard when I hear herbs being pigeon-punched into a disposable or body system, and I try to challenge myself not to talk like that either. Herbs are complex and have many applications: they are not a single pharmaceutical application. I also don’t believe that we should just qualify a potion based on what it’s “good for”.
Hawthorn is more than a cardiovascular herb, right. It also acts on the digestive, urinary and nervous systems. Interestingly, it wasn’t used as a cardiovascular herb in Western Medicine until around 1900 (I covered it in Materia Medica which you can mail to you, see below). Still, it excels as a thropreorestorative for the heart and circulation, and is a guide in cardiac medicine.
Hawthorn: Herb Of The Week · Commonwealth Holistic Herbalism
You can learn a lot about the heart through working with Hawthorn, on all levels: physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and passionately.
For that reason I allow myself to be a little more forgiving to verbally associate Hawthorn and heart. Jim McDonald refers to Hawthorn as the “Archetype Heart Herb,” and I thought that was a great way to refer to this plant.
Yes, I’m still a clinical herbalist, and I love herbs as medicine, for sure. But when I sat down to write about Hawthorn, I was intrigued to explore another side of this herb.
Why? Well, mostly because although things like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and tachycardia are absolutely rampant in modern society, so are trauma, injury, and emotional pain. Heartbreaks and heartaches also happen, and they happen often.
What Is A Happy Life #this Season, What To Eat, At A Glance [cute] ———— Lh: Figure One Two Cherries, Figure Three Apricots, Figure Four Hawthorn, Figure Five Grapes, Figure Six Peach.
I have a post about how Hawthorn became a so-called “heart herb” in clinical practice (as surprisingly, Hawthorn was not historically used as a heart herb). Check out this post for my personal Materia Medica and more about Hawthorn in practice.
My sincere hope is that you are inspired to dive into the medicinal plants that call you into your own story, into your own body, into your own healing.
When the herb harvest entered our days and came to our house, everyone in my family became more familiar with the plant.
The kids and I have been munching on Hawthorn fruit for weeks. We had walked past two hawthorns on the road and gnawed at the sweet powdery flesh, examining the rock-hard haw inside.
Hawthorn Berry Homemade Cordial
We listened to birds and squirrels nibbling, and berries creaking as the tree’s heavy arms released them to bounce off car roofs and sidewalks.
But all week, Wolfie looks out the window a little sadly, or sits on the lawn saying, “I hope
Have hawthorn trees.” I know there are close ones, trees we see almost every day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t wish they were closer. And when you’re 4 years old, a block feels too far.
Isn’t it funny that we eat this fruit all day for weeks, but we feel a little sad that we don’t have our own tree with which we can hang out all day? you will think