Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Hawthorn

Description

Hawthorn is a dense, thorny shrub that grows 5–13 ft (1.5–4 m) high. It has white flowers that look like roses and is considered one of the most beautiful of all

the shrubs that flower in the spring. A member of the rose family, it has been planted along hedges to deter trespassers since the Middle Ages. Hawthorn grows throughout the world anywhere that is moist.

Hawthorn is the common name for Crataegus oxyacantha or other Crataegus species. There are more than 300 species throughout the world. Hawthorn's flowers, leaves, and fruit (berries) are used as medicine, although the flowers have an unpleasant smell and taste slightly bitter. The hawthorn fruit is sour.

Hawthorn is one of the oldest medicinal plants known in Europe, where it has been used since the Middle Ages for heart problems. The ancient Greeks and Native Americans also recognized hawthorn's heart-healthy...