Hawthorn - Crataegus monogyna

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Hawthorn - Crataegus monogyna
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

If you want wildlife in your garden, you really should make room for at least one hawthorn and ideally several! This plant must rank among the top three for wildlife. Hawthorn is used extensively for hedging, especially mixed with other species such as blackthorn. It is deciduous, relatively fast-growing - quickthorn is a local name - and can be planted on its own as a small specimen tree in a medium to large sized garden. The fragrant white flowers generally appear in May. The light green to grey-green leaves are broad, oval and lobed.

With age, the tree becomes gnarled and can bring character to the garden. It will provide good autumn colour and is prime habitat - probably the best one of all - for a huge variety of nesting birds. The red berries or haws that hang in clusters in the autumn are particularly attractive to redwings and fieldfares but are eaten by many other birds, as well as by small mammals. Hawthorn is also the food plant for a huge number of insects including some very attractive moths.

Hawthorn and hedges have gone together for a very long time: the word 'haw' is an old - possibly Anglo-Saxon - word meaning 'hedge'. In addition, the German name of 'hagedorn' meaning 'hedgethorn' adds support to this traditional use of the plant.

Wood from the hawthorn has a fine grain and takes a beautiful polish - formerly the root wood was used for making small items such as combs and boxes. It is an excellent fuel and has the distinction of making the hottest of all wood fires. Charcoal made from hawthorn was said to be able to melt pig-iron without the need for a 'blast' - ie air to make a fire burn stronger and hotter.

Animals

Anaspis maculata, Bank vole, Birds, Blackbird, Blackcap, Brimstone moth, Bullfinch, Butterflies, Chaffinch, Chinese character moth, Cuckoo-spit insect, Dance fly, Dormouse, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Fox, Goldfinch, Grammoptera ruficornis, Greenfinch, Hawthorn shieldbug, Honey bee, Lackey moth, Lesser yellow underwing moth, Light emerald moth, Linnet, Mistle thrush, Moths, Oedemera nobilis, Redwing, Rhagium mordax, Robin, Rutpela maculata, Song thrush, Swallowtailed moth, Turtle dove, Vapourer moth, Waxwing, Wood mouse, Woodpigeon, Yellow-necked mouse, Yellow-tail moth, Yellowhammer

Foliage	Green
Flower	White, May to June
Moisture	(Average)
Sunlight	(Full sun to Part-shade)
Origin	Native