PL ANT OF TH E M ON TH
The interesting part of this lore is the belief that cutting down a faery tree would result in a lifetime of bad luck. Thus, many trees were left to grow, and a great number of streets, villages, and historic sites contain a version of ’Thorn in their name.
continued from page 24 Today, we are able to identify the many benefits of this fruit. They are high in potassium, calcium, Vitamin C, and Beta Carotene. Through human history though, the benefits of these fruits were more a kin to “folk medicines.” In both Chinese and Japanese traditional medicine, the dried fruits of C. pinnatifida (China) and C. cuneata (Japan) were eaten to aid in digestion. We found similar uses by Native American tribes, utilizing the fruits of North American Hawthorns to provide other beneficial health effects. Shifting to Europe, namely Scottish and Irish lore, the tree takes on a much different role in use, primarily in storytelling. While they acknowledged the health benefits of eating the fruits, with some even eating the young spring leaves, the trees themselves have a mixed history of menace. Hawthorns were believed to be inhabited by faeries (fairies), which contrary to the current fairy garden trend, these faeries weren’t exactly kind. Most stories held a theme of someone being lured in to the tree by a faery, taken into a faery underworld, and then being released thinking only a small amount of time had passed – while in reality years had gone by. If you ask us, that sounds like a pretty solid excuse for getting a little too drunk and lost on one’s way home, “You see, what happened was…”
26 | Official Publication of The Ohio Landscape Association
One of our favorite descriptions of scents in the Dr. Dirr manual is when he refers to the “smell of a flower as disagreeable as the Hawthorn’s.” Once you smell one in bloom, you too may disagree with them, as they are not too pleasant. Turns out, the flower of Crataegus emits trimethylamine in bloom. This organic amine has a somewhat “fishy” smell in low concentrations and strong “ammonia-like” scent in higher ones. Trimethylamine is also one of the first chemicals given off by a decomposing body. During the Great Plague, people became familiar with the “scent of death” and associated that same scent with the bloom of the Hawthorn. This association undoubtedly gave rise to many of the negative stories surrounding the plant. To this day, a longstanding tradition exists that bringing the flowering branch of Hawthorn into the house will bring bad luck and/or death. The stories of our plants are important, but hopefully the lore won’t scare you away from such a versatile and functional tree. While there are a number of great Asian and European species of Hawthorn for the collectors, we will focus on a few Ohionative species that offer great value to our urban landscapes. Crataegus crusgalli – Cockspur Hawthorn This native ornamental tree typically reaches into the 20’ to 30’ rounded range. Pure white “disagreeable” scented flowers are in mid-May followed by clusters of bright red fruits ripening in October that look like tiny apples. While the scent is not overly pleasant, it isn’t as bad as taking a nose full of flowering pear. The common name refers to the wicked spur on the back of a rooster’s foot. Thorns on this tree are up to 3 inches long and are very strong and very sharp. There are few things worse than trying to put this plant into a chipper, you’ll believe the faery is out to get you that day. For all the benefits of this plant, try the Lake County Nursery introduction of ‘Crusader’. This is a cultivar of the plant that is essentially thornless and performs quite nice in our landscapes, holding a much smaller stature – closer to 15’ – making it an ideal under-the-wire tree.