Hawthorn (lats. Crataégus) - genus of deciduous, rarely poluvechnozelenyh high shrubs or small treesbelonging to the subfamily apple(Maloideae) family of Rose (Rosaceae) of the order Rosales (Rosales).

The name comes from the Greek. κραθαιος ("strong"), which reflects the property or wood - strong and firm, or the ability of plants to live long: the age of hawthorn can reach 300 years.

Names in other languages

Eng. hawthorn (shrub or tree), haw (the fruit); Italian. biancospino; App. espino, espino albar (blanco), oxiacanta; it. Hagedorn, Weißdorn; Pol. glóg, glóżyna, jaworek; ua. глід; fr. aubépine.

Distribution

The genus has more than 200 species and a large number of forms and hybrids. Some researchers distinguish these forms into separate species, and reduce their number to 2000[1].

Hawthorn distributed mainly in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere to be between 30 ° and 60 ° with. sh., primarily in North Americaand Eurasia.

In Russia about 50 species, in addition, over 100 species of introduced.

Description

Hawthorn - this is usually a tall shrub or small tree. However, the North American species such as hawthorn Douglas- are large trees, with trunks of about 0,5 m in diameter, and hawthorn Altai reaches a height of 6 m.

Crohn's - a dense, rounded.

Shoots are purplish-red, with long spines 3-6 cm (mutated shortshoots). In European and Asian species of small spines or nonexistent.

Leaves from solid to pinnate. In European and Asian types of leaves are often deeply lobed.

Flowers are white (with garden forms sometimes pink or red) in poluzontikah or corymbose inflorescences. In European and Asian species corolla flower has 20 stamens, the U.S. is usually 5-7 or 10 stamens (rarely 20). During the flowering hawthorn is similar to the apple tree, but the flowers had smaller, white or pinkish, with large anthers, which, depending on the type may be yellow, pink or purple-red. Flowers contain dimethylamine - a substance that gives them a characteristic smell of stale fish^[2].

Fruit - small apple, formed from ginetseya, overgrown outside hypanthium, the size of 1-4 cm. Ripen in September - October. Hawthorn berries are globular, pear-shaped, elongated, with one or more (up to 5) large, very strong triangular pits. Located near the cup these bones at the top of the fruit and lightly covered with skin. The color of fruits depends on the type and grade, it can be a pale orange-yellow, red, bright orange, rarely almost black. The size of the fruit as varied as their coloration. In blood-red hawthorn are only 5-7 mm in diameter, while the large-fruited American species - almost 3, rarely 4 cm

At the present time are introduced into the culture of large-fruited species, such as the Canadian Hawthorn, Hawthorn point and Crataegus pontica. They bear fruit every year, high-yielding.Their fruits like apples Ranetki, but has a short stalk. Depending on the type of a tree collected from 10 to 50 kg of fruit.

Application

Food use 

Many species of hawthorn - valuable food and medicinal plants. Ripe fresh, soft, floury and tasty, the therapeutic value of low yield hips. They contain from 4 to 11% sugar, mainly fructose, so they can eat and diabetes, as well as a set of biologically active substances - organic acids (oleanovoy, ursolic and krategovoy), choline and acetylcholine, quercetin, tannins,phytosterols, wine and citric acid, vitamins A, C, R. The content of acid is small and varies from 0,26 to 0,93%. In a juicy fruit is higher, dryish mealy fruit is almost no acids. The vitamin content reaches: Vitamin C - 31-108 mg% (the American species, up to 257,3), vitamin P - 330-680 mg%, carotene 4.2 mg% (the American species, up to 75). Quite a lot of pectin, which not only makes the processing of jellies, but also removes from the body salts of heavy metals and other harmful substances. The fruits of large species are tasty, they can have fresh, processed for jam, wine, fruit compote and brew as tea. However, hawthorn should not be abused. More cups of berries to eat at one time is not recommended, as this may cause a sharp drop in blood pressure and cardiac rhythm disturbance. One outlet is the same jam of hawthorn replaces two-time reception of such a strong heart means as adonizid. Hawthorn berries that are dry mildew pulp, mainly used dried. They were crushed into flour, which is added when baking bread and pastry products.

Medicinal use 

Starting from the XVI century, hawthorn is used in medicine. In former times it was used only as an astringent for diarrhea and dysentery. Since the XIX century began to use tea from flowers and leaves as krovoochistitelnoe tool, and since the beginning of XX century, the fruits and flowers of hawthorn are recommended as a remedy for diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Medicinesare made of hawthorn have a cardiotonic effect. They enhance the reduction of infarction, but reduce its excitability; triterpene acids increase blood circulation in coronary and cerebral vessels, increase the sensitivity of cardiac muscle to the action of cardiac glycosides, eliminate pain and discomfort in the heart. Hawthorn preparations are used in the treatment of functional disorders of cardiac activity, false angina, menopausal syndrome, hypertension, astheno-neurotic states^[3]. In a scientific medicine used in alcohol tincture, as well as liquid and dense extract from the flowers and fruits. In folk medicine used for the same purpose are the flowers of hawthorn (less fruit, and then more for food). [4]

Decorative use 

Hawthorn is widely used in ornamental horticulture. They are winter-hardy, drought-resistant, ability to Soil, fine for the whole period of vegetation due to a graceful leaves, staining the fall in the orange-red color, numerous white flowers in corymbose inflorescences, fruits bright colors adorning the crown for two months.

Hawthorn live to 300 years, is an ideal material for the barbed fences - beautiful and virtually impenetrable. In the middle belt of Russia the most widely used Crataegus laevigata and blood-red, as well as hawthorn cock's spur.

Of the Hawthorn Group in creating decorative landscaped parks. Hawthorn is used to consolidate the slopes of ravines, shores of ponds and rivers.

Other useful properties of hawthorns 

Hawthorn - Honey.

Bark used for tanning, as well as for dyeing red.

The spines are sometimes used instead of nails, hard and dense wood is rarely used in the carpentry industry.

Reproduction

Hawthorn propagated by sowing seed, root suckers, and cultivars - grafting. When the seed multiplication requires extensive - up to 7-8 months. - stratification. When sown in autumn in the garden seeds germinate in the spring and not all for some time. In the first year is usually 20-30% of seeds germinate. Some seeds sprout the following year. Percentage germination increased when the seeds before sowing or stratification expose scarification. Shoots like a thorn apple seedlings. In the first year seedlings grow slowly, rarely reaching 10-12 cm In the spring of next year they are transplanted on growing. Starting from 2-3-year growth, reaching 60 cm, cut to 2-3 buds above the soil. This causes rapid growth of lateral shoots from which leaves no more than two, the other cut.

Hawthorn in the culture

From America to Europe were brought several species to the beginning of XVIII century parks and gardens planted eight North American species: the cock's spur, soft-colored, serdtselistny, rotundifolia, bound, Spot, yellow. In Russia, the American species of hawthorn appeared in the XIX century.

Hawthorn grows in any soil: he vysokozimostoek and drought-resistant. Basic care measures such as hawthorn, as well as for other fruit crops. Its drawbacks include the fact that he quite amazed pests of fruit crops and have to resort to conventional measures of protection.

Hawthorn is used as a rootstock for cultivated species such as medlar, apple, pear, quince. It is resistant to adverse conditions of the city, reacted positively to the presence in the soillime. Tolerate shading. It has high pobegoobrazovatelnoy ability, is well tolerated cut and formed.

Types

Main article: Species of the genus Crataegus

Notes

↑ Germplasm Resources Information Network leads 231 species, and USDA NRCS - only 214.

↑ Zamyatina. Hawthorn - Beauty, food, medicine. Science and Life, 1999, № 11, p.36-39

↑ FP Trinus. Pharmacotherapeutic guide. 6 th ed., K.: Zdorov'ya, 1989.-640C.

↑ M. Nosal, J. M. Nosal. Medicinal plants and their use in people, Ed. Academician AN UkrSSR VG Drobot'ko. K.: Gosmedizdat SSR, 1959

References

Majewski P. F. Flora of the middle zone of European part of USSR. Acad. 9-e. Leningrad, Kolos, 1964.

Mashkovsky MD Pharmaceuticals. Manual for doctors, Part 1. Acad. 7-e. Moscow, "Medicine", 1972.

Poletika M. Hawthorn - Crataegus L. - Proc.: Trees and shrubs of the Soviet Union. T. 3. M. - L., Acad Sci USSR, 1954.

Popov MG Flora of Central Siberia. T. 1. M. - L. Acad Sci USSR, 1957.

Poyarkov AI Hawthorn - Crataegus L. - Proc.: Flora of the USSR. T. 9. M. - L., Acad Sci USSR, 1939.

Cherepanov SK Vault additions and changes to the "Flora of the USSR" (vols. I-XXX). L., "Science, 1973.

References

Hawthorn: The information on this site GRIN

Hawthorn site USDA NRCS

Hawthorn blood-red as a medicinal plant. Traditional recipes.

Flora Europaea: Crataegus