Timberpedia - Hawthorn

Hawthorn

Latin Name:Irish Name:Native to Ireland?
Crataegus monogynaSceachYes

About the Tree

The “haw” (or fruit) is eaten by birds.

The hawthorn is most commonly seen in hedgerows, where it is used to enclose land, especially in the eighteenth century. Many of these hedges were removed in the second half of the last (20th)
century to facilitate farming operations, which required a larger scale of operation to be
economical.

This happened until the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when the loss of hedgerows was felt to be a
major environmental and ecological loss. Also, some hedgerows represent(ed) historic boundaries,
and the value of these “lines on maps” are valuable in terms of landscape archaeology.

As farming incomes (particularly in the UK) dived into decline and grant aid for hedgerow
restoration and the planting of new hedgerows became more attractive (again, particularly in the
UK), the appearance of new and restored hedgerows became a more common site, and the
hawthorn is usually the major element of the species mix used.

Hawthorn Common hawthorn
Pink and brown (4627395373) Hawthorn flowers
Hawthorn fruit Fruit
About the TimberPedia

Know your wood! The Timberpedia is a broad resource that aims to catalogue all the major tree species in Ireland, containing information that we’ve gathered from over two decades maintaining our natural woodland and serving Ireland’s woodworking industry.

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