Latin name: Crataegus Oxycantha
Common name(s): Bread and Cheese Tree, English Hawthorn, Gaxels, Hagthorn, Haw, Hawthorn, Hazels, Huath, Ladies Meat, May, May Blossom, May Bush, May Flower, Quick, Quickset, Thorn, Tree of Chastity
Hawthorn is small deciduous tree that is densely branched and has obovate shallow lobes leaves. In the late spring it blooms clusters of tiny white flowers which are then followed by egg shaped fruits that are dark red in color. Hawthorn is a warming sweet and sour aromatic herb.
Hawthorn helps to improve blood pressure, peripheral circulation, coronary blood flow and it regulates the heart rate. Hawthorn can be used to treat all kinds of heart diseases and circulatory disorders. The parts of the herb that are used in herbal healing are the bark, flowers, fruits and leaves.
Hawthorn is an anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-spasmodic, astringent, cardiac, digestant, diuretic, emmenagogue, hypertensive, hypotensive, sedative, cardiac-tonic and tonic. Hawthorn is a tree that has been known to be sacred to Christians because of the crown of thorns that Jesus had placed on his head was made from the hawthorn tree.
There is in fact a grove of hawthorn trees that to this day still grows outside of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. Hawthorn increases coronary blood flow and it allows the heart to function with less oxygen because it improves myocardial metabolism. It allows blood to flow more freely because it dilates the vessels which in turn lowers blood pressure.
Hawthorn works directly on the heart which helps the damaged heart muscles in a heart to work better. Hawthorn is useful in relieving insomnia and restlessness. When hawthorn is used on a regular basis it helps to prevent against coronary heart disease according to ‘Chinese Herbal Medicine’ by Daniel P. Reed.
Hawthorn can be used to help in the treatment of failure of menstruation and postpartum pain as well. It can be used in the treatment of individual’s digestion disorders and with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) too and also in those individuals with hypertension associated with coronary artery disease. Hawthorn is also a uterine stimulant.
Hawthorn can be used to treat any of the following:
Adrenal weakness, angina pectoris, arrhythmias, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, bloating, blood clots, cardiac symptoms, circulatory disorders, digestive disorders, dropsy, edema, enlarged heart, gallbladder problems, hardening of the arteries, heart disease, heart fibrillation, heart palpitations, heart valves, heart weakness, high blood pressure, hypertrophy, hypertension, hypoglycemia, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), irregular heartbeat, liver, low blood pressure, menopause, nephritis, regulates heartbeat, rheumatism, sleeplessness, sore throat, stomach, stress and vibrancy.