Plant Lore of Great Britain - The Heart of the Hedge: The Medicinal and Magical Lore of Hawthorn

By Clare Lesley Hughes

The common hawthorn (crataegus monogyna) is a welcome sight in the spring hedgerows across Britain. Whilst known to many as hawthorn or common hawthorn, this tree also has more evocative names, including the may blossom, quickthorn, and whitethorn, and is deeply rooted in British folklore. My go-to source for anything to do with British trees and their spiritual or magical affiliations is Jacqueline Memory Paterson’s book Tree Wisdom: The Definitive Guidebook to the Myth, Folklore and Healing Power of Trees. About the hawthorn, Paterson writes, “No tree is more deeply enshrined in the traditions of the English countryside and the affections of the people.”

When looked at from a purely medicinal and scientific angle, hawthorn—particularly its berries—has long been used as a traditional remedy to support the heart by strengthening cardiovascular function, regulating blood pressure, and easing nervous tension. Traditionally, the berries were also used to relieve diarrhoea and dysentery, and as Nicholas Culpeper claims in his 1649 work The Complete Herbal, the seeds, when drunk in wine, were “good against the stone and dropsy.” For a less interesting way to ingest hawthorn, the leaves and berries can also be taken as tea or capsule. The leaves can also be consumed straight off the tree, and one tale I grew up with is that hawthorn leaves were once considered as nourishing as a light meal of bread and cheese—hence the nickname “the bread and cheese tree” (a practice Paterson also records).

When looked at from a purely medicinal and scientific angle, hawthorn—particularly its berries—has long been used as a traditional remedy to support the heart by strengthening cardiovascular function, regulating blood pressure, and easing nervous tension. Traditionally, the berries were also used to relieve diarrhoea and dysentery, and as Nicholas Culpeper claims in his 1649 work The Complete Herbal, the seeds, when drunk in wine, were “good against the stone and dropsy.” For a less interesting way to ingest hawthorn, the leaves and berries can also be taken as tea or capsule. The leaves can also be consumed straight off the tree, and one tale I grew up with is that hawthorn leaves were once considered as nourishing as a light meal of bread and cheese—hence the nickname “the bread and cheese tree” (a practice Paterson also records).

Hawthorn also carries strong protective associations. For instance, to guard against fire, charms made of hawthorn twigs were hung in kitchens on the New Year and only replaced the following year. The tree often stood watch over wells and springs—sources of fresh water vital to village life—and both water and the tree were considered sacred. To ask for divine or spiritual assistance, ‘clooties’ or wish rags were tied to these hawthorn branches as offerings for protection, love, or healing. However, it is worth noting that today, this practice is often discouraged, as trees can become choked by artificial materials—Avebury’s beech trees are a particularly well-known example that local caretakers regularly clear.

Hawthorn’s protective powers extended even further, from land to sea. It was believed that carrying a sprig on a voyage could ward off storms or lightning; an old rhyme advises on how to protect oneself from a storm: “Beware of an oak, it draws the stroke; avoid an ash, it courts the flash; hide under a thorn, to save you from harm.”

No discussion of British hawthorns would be complete without mentioning the famous Holy Thorn of Glastonbury. Said to have sprouted from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who was visiting Glastonbury with the Holy Grail, the original tree stood within the Abbey grounds. Another sacred hawthorn—linked to this lineage—grew on nearby Wearyall Hill before being vandalised and eventually removed. Thankfully, a sapling has reappeared and now grows on the hill once more. The Glastonbury hawthorns are of the biflora variety, flowering not once but twice a year, adding to their spiritual significance. 

Finally, no tree so rich in lore could escape a touch of ambiguity. Hawthorn is also associated with ill luck and even misfortune. To fell a hawthorn was believed to invite disaster, and bringing its branches indoors was often considered taboo. As a tree of Bealtaine—when the veil between worlds is said to thin—it should be approached with both reverence and caution. The hawthorn tree, therefore, offers protection and love, but she also demands respect.

Culpeper, N., 2020. Culpeper's Complete Herbal: Over 400 Herbs and Their Uses. Arcturus Publishing.

Memory, P.J., 1997. Tree Wisdom. The definitive guidebook to the myth, folklore and healing power of the Trees. L.: Thorsons Element.