Look Out for Single-seeded Hawthorn in the Touraine Loire Valley

 Single-seeded Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna (Fr. Aubépine monogyne).

Hawthorn is a small deciduous tree that can grow up to 10 metres tall and live for 500 years. The record is a 1700 year old plant in Mayenne.

Single-seeded Hawthorn has spines and leaves with 3 to 7 lobes, which can be quite variable, even on the same plant. The white or pink flowers appear in April to June, in loose corymbs of 10 to 20 blossoms. The ovoid bright red fruits, which are called 'haws' in English and 'cenelles' in French, reach maturity in September-October. The flesh is yellow and floury, and as suggested by the name, surrounds a single seed. The fruits are rich in vitamins, but quite astringent and not really very appealing to humans. 

C. monogyna can be confused with its much less common cousin C. laevigata, but this second species has barely lobed leaves and three seeds. C. laevigata is much rarer than C. monogyna, but the two species hybridise, so it can be worth paying attention.

Single-seeded Hawthorn can be found throughout Europe to a latitude of 60 degrees north, and along the Mediterranean in the Middle East and North Africa. It is abundant up to 1600 metres above sea level (higher around the Mediterranean). It is not at all picky about soil type, temperatures or humidity levels. You will mostly find it in hedges, woodland edges and deciduous forests.

Hawthorn is pollinated by insects, especially bees, and the seeds mostly distributed by birds (and some mammals such as foxes or goats). Because of its spines it doesn't get browsed much except by Red Deer (and rabbits will rase seedlings). Mistletoe will parasitise hawthorn.

It is very prone to Fire Blight Erwinia amylovora (a bacterial infection that can attack all members of the Rose family). Hawthorn used to be used as root stock for apples, pears, quinces and medlars, but due to the risk of Fire Blight this is now forbidden.

Hawthorn is the food host plant for many caterpillars, including the Black-veined White butterfly and lots of moths.

 

It is an important hedgerow plant, providing shelter for nesting birds, and food for over a hundred species of insect, such as the Hawthorn Bug in the photo below. The fruits are important winter nourishment for several species of bird.

The wood of hawthorn is hard, dense and white, with medullary rays. In the past it was used for moving parts where resistance to wear was needed, and for small turned objects such as barrel taps.