Hawthorn Trees With Berries – Harvesting hawthorn berries is new to me this year. They are sweet and tender if you get them at the right time, and in past years I have enjoyed them in early fall. This year, the Washington hawthorns were sweet and tender in late October. But by then the hawthorns have started to rot, so next year I’ll be looking for them in mid-October.
I am grateful to Josh Fecteau’s recent hawthorn article for inspiring me to try hawthorn again. According to Josh, there are many species of Hawthorn, probably about 50 in New England. According to George Symonds (in his excellent book Tree Identification: Practical Tree Identification and New Methods for Identification), there are probably thousands in North America.
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Hawthorn Trees With Berries
, my favorite guide to learning tree ID). Fortunately, you don’t have to distinguish between specific species. All hawthorns have edible berries, so you just need to know that they are hawthorns. BUT, like apple seeds, hawthorn seeds contain cyanide and should not be eaten. Don’t panic; just spit out the seeds.
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Why bother with hawthorn? They are beautiful, interesting and delicious wild foods with health benefits. Some people use the berries to make hawthorn jelly, but I haven’t tried it. Fruits, leaves and flowers can be used to make tea. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see how hawthorn extract is made.
I will describe two types here to illustrate the general characteristics. It helps you recognize hawthorn when you see it, but I
If you are unsure about hawthorn while foraging, check with additional sources before eating the berries.
It grows as a small tree or large shrub, and blooms in late spring with clusters of white flowers. The fruit turns red in September (here), but then turns sweet. By October 31st, they were sweet and maybe a bit over their peak. Each fruit contains 3-5 seeds.
Hawthorn: Foraging And Using
The leaves are lobed and toothed, as you can see in my photo above. Many other species of hawthorn have similar leaves. The tree is heavily armed with long spines about 3 inches long. Be careful though, you can easily pick off the fruit hanging from the branches. This becomes even easier later in the season after many leaves have fallen and the thorns are no longer covered.
Also known as common hawthorn, it is a European native that has escaped cultivation and is native to North America. It’s sometimes called an invasive plant, but I don’t see it very often, and it’s not very common in one area. Maybe it’s aggressive in other parts of the country, but it doesn’t seem that aggressive here. Monocot hawthorns, like Washington hawthorn, grow as shrubs or small trees and produce clusters of white flowers in late spring. The oval red fruits ripen slightly earlier in the fall (than Washington hawthorns) and contain one seed (hence the name). The toothed leaves have deeper lobes than Washington hawthorn leaves, but the spines are much smaller, only 1/2 inch to an inch long.
Hawthorns abound in the forest floor of Massachusetts, but they are slender specimens that do not bear good fruit. Too shady in the forest. To find fruit-laden hawthorns, look in sunny areas such as scrublands and thickets, along pasture edges and streams. They’re often grown as ornamentals, so if your friend has one and doesn’t mind you picking some, you’ll have an easy dining experience at your fingertips.
This is my first experience with hawthorn, and I’m using it to make an extract similar to what I use to make vanilla extract. I hope to use the hawthorn extract as a flavoring in cooking and baking. I filled a clean canning jar about 3/4 full with fruit, covered it with 80 alcohol and sealed the jar. Not sure how long it will take to extract enough flavor from the berries, so I will be checking it daily. I know other extracts (like vanilla extract) take weeks, so that’s what I’m waiting for. Written by Ariane Lang, BSc, MBA and SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD — Clinical Review by Kathy W. Warwick did. R.D., CDE, Nutrition — Updated December 13, 2021
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These nutrient-rich fruits are roasted, tangy, and mildly sweet. Their color ranges from yellow to dark red (
For centuries, people have used hawthorn as an herbal remedy for digestive problems, heart disease, and high blood pressure. In fact, this fruit has been a staple of traditional Chinese medicine since at least 659 AD (
Antioxidants help neutralize unstable molecules called free radicals, which can harm your body when they are present in high levels.
Free radicals are produced by certain foods. You may also have higher levels of them as a result of exposure to environmental toxins such as air pollution and secondhand smoke (
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Polyphenols are associated with many health benefits due to their antioxidant activity, including the following:
Although initial research in animals and cells is promising, more human studies are needed to evaluate hawthorn’s effects on disease risk.
Summary Hawthorn berries contain plant polyphenols, which have antioxidant properties and have many health benefits.
Research has shown that chronic inflammation is linked to many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, asthma, and some cancers.
Red Ripe Hawthorn Berries On The Branches In The Garden In The Sunlight. Crataegus Laevigata. Selective Focus Stock Photo
In a study in mice with liver disease, hawthorn extract significantly reduced levels of inflammatory compounds, leading to reduced liver inflammation and damage.
In one study, researchers gave vitexin, a substance found in hawthorn leaves, to mice with respiratory disease. The treatment reduced the production of pro-inflammatory molecules and reduced the response of white blood cells to inflammation.
These promising results from animal and test-tube studies suggest that the supplement may have anti-inflammatory effects in humans. However, more research is needed.
Summary Hawthorn berry extract has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in test tube and animal studies. However, human studies are needed.
Large Hawthorn Tree Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
In traditional Chinese medicine, hawthorn is one of the most common foods used to treat high blood pressure.
Animal studies have shown that hawthorn acts as a vasodilator, which relaxes narrowed arteries and thus lowers blood pressure (
A 10-week study looked at the effects of hawthorn extract on 36 people with mild hypertension.
Researchers found that people taking 500 mg of the extract daily had lower diastolic blood pressure.
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In a 2006 study, researchers gave 1,200 mg of hawthorn extract daily for 16 weeks to 79 people with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. People who took the extract improved their blood pressure more than the placebo group (
However, more research is needed to confirm these results. It is also important to note that consuming the extract is not the same as eating the fruit.
Summary Some studies show that hawthorn can lower blood pressure by dilating blood vessels. However, further research is needed.
Hawthorn extract contains flavonoids and pectin, and some studies have shown that it improves blood cholesterol levels. Pectin is a type of fiber involved in cholesterol metabolism.
Ripe Red Berries On The Branch Of A Hawthorn Tree Stock Image
Imbalanced levels of cholesterol in the blood, especially high triglycerides and low HDL (good) cholesterol, can contribute to atherosclerosis, or plaque formation in the blood vessels.
If plaque continues to build up, it can completely block a blood vessel, causing a heart attack or stroke.
In one animal study, mice that received two doses of hawthorn extract had 28-47% lower levels of total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, as well as liver triglycerides, compared to mice that did not receive the extract.
Similarly, a 6-week study in rats showed significant reductions in fasting triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol when rats were fed a hawthorn supplement.
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Finally, a 6-month study in 64 people with atherosclerosis found that taking hawthorn extract at a dose of 2.3 mg (5 mg per kg) of body weight significantly reduced the thickness of toxic plaque in the carotid arteries.
Although this research is promising, more human studies are needed to evaluate the effects of hawthorn extract on blood cholesterol.
Summary Animal and human studies show that taking hawthorn extract can help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. However, more human studies are needed.
People have used hawthorn berries and extracts for centuries to treat digestive problems, especially indigestion and stomach pain (
Photo: Berries And Lichen On A Hawthorn Tree Mg 6645
Fruits contain fiber that reduces constipation and acts as a prebiotic. Prebiotics are foods that feed and support healthy gut bacteria and are important for normal digestion (
One observational study in people with slow digestion found that each additional gram of fiber people consumed was associated with: