Am I being a ninny eating them or are they officially recognised as being eddible?
Ta.
Hawthorn leaves
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QuakerBear
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Hawthorn leaves
QuakerBear
MKG wrote:Yeah, they're OK. When I was a nipper, we used to call them bread and cheese. No idea why.
http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/hawthorn.htm[/quote]another name for the Hawthorn is the "Bread and Cheese Tree". This refers to the young leaves and leaf buds which country folk would eat straight from the tree. They have a sweet nutty flavour and can be added to salads along with the flower buds.
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Silver Ether
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found it ...an article about hawthorn aiding your heart ... please remember I am not responsible for your health ... just passing on info 
Long before anyone installed barbed wire and split-rail fences, German farmers kept their animals penned in with natural fences or hedges of hawthorn. The bushes had thorns so sharp and dense that they created a nearly impenetrable barrier to livestock.
Although hawthorn is a sturdy, tenacious plant, it also has a gentler side. In spring, hawthorn flowers (also called mayflowers; remember the tiny ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?) sweetly scent fields throughout Europe. When country folk had colds, they used to pick and eat the herb’s reddish blue berries because the tart taste relieved the scratchiness of sore throats.
Old-time herbalists sometimes used hawthorn to treat heart ailments, but they apparently never knew what a treasure they had in this hedgerow plant. Hawthorn is probably one of the best heart tonics in the plant kingdom, according to Irene Catania, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and homeopathic practitioner in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey.
Whether you have angina, arrhythmia, an enlarged heart, or congestive heart failure, you can benefit from taking hawthorn. It’s helpful anytime that there is deterioration of the heart muscle, says Dr. Catania.
"That’s not to say that hawthorn can reverse severe damage done by heart disease. If you have an enlarged heart, hawthorn won’t make it smaller," she says, "but it will probably ease some of the symptoms and increase the function and strength of your heart."
Hawthorn assists healthy hearts, too. It’s been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce levels of blood cholesterol, and prevent cholesterol buildup on artery walls—actions that help prevent heart disease.
A study by the German Federal Ministry of Health found that hawthorn gently increases the strength of the heart, normalizes rhythm, and benefits circulation within the heart itself by dilating the coronary arteries. In Germany, many extracts and medicinal preparations use hawthorn alone or in combination with other herbs.
Long before anyone installed barbed wire and split-rail fences, German farmers kept their animals penned in with natural fences or hedges of hawthorn. The bushes had thorns so sharp and dense that they created a nearly impenetrable barrier to livestock.
Although hawthorn is a sturdy, tenacious plant, it also has a gentler side. In spring, hawthorn flowers (also called mayflowers; remember the tiny ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?) sweetly scent fields throughout Europe. When country folk had colds, they used to pick and eat the herb’s reddish blue berries because the tart taste relieved the scratchiness of sore throats.
Old-time herbalists sometimes used hawthorn to treat heart ailments, but they apparently never knew what a treasure they had in this hedgerow plant. Hawthorn is probably one of the best heart tonics in the plant kingdom, according to Irene Catania, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and homeopathic practitioner in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey.
Whether you have angina, arrhythmia, an enlarged heart, or congestive heart failure, you can benefit from taking hawthorn. It’s helpful anytime that there is deterioration of the heart muscle, says Dr. Catania.
"That’s not to say that hawthorn can reverse severe damage done by heart disease. If you have an enlarged heart, hawthorn won’t make it smaller," she says, "but it will probably ease some of the symptoms and increase the function and strength of your heart."
Hawthorn assists healthy hearts, too. It’s been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce levels of blood cholesterol, and prevent cholesterol buildup on artery walls—actions that help prevent heart disease.
A study by the German Federal Ministry of Health found that hawthorn gently increases the strength of the heart, normalizes rhythm, and benefits circulation within the heart itself by dilating the coronary arteries. In Germany, many extracts and medicinal preparations use hawthorn alone or in combination with other herbs.
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snapdragon
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woooo I have two (bird-sown) in pots in the backyard (I'm a sucker for a baby tree) which need to be proper-planted or at least re-potted, findng space in my hedgerow is difficult as it's the length of the garden but the garden is only 15ft wide and the hedge encroaches day by day (birds/bugs seem to like it though)
Culpepper has nothing to say about the leaves - but boiling haws and pounded stones in wine (yet again) do they taste nice?
Culpepper has nothing to say about the leaves - but boiling haws and pounded stones in wine (yet again) do they taste nice?
Say what you mean and be who you are, Those who mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind
Be warned... I am sure our hawthorn hedges jump out at us.
They lie in wait tucked cosily between a privet and a birch hedge and then, just as you are looking the other way, they spring on you... Flipping leathal they are too.
They have drawn blood through thick swede working gloves, several times... I hate the blighters.
They lie in wait tucked cosily between a privet and a birch hedge and then, just as you are looking the other way, they spring on you... Flipping leathal they are too.
They have drawn blood through thick swede working gloves, several times... I hate the blighters.
Ann Pan
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"Some days you're the dog,
some days you're the lamp-post"
My blog
My Tea Cosy Shop
Some photos
My eBay
We have a lot of hawthorn trees on our fields, and the goats love the leaves. They are not easy to collect for them, though!
I have a herbal remedy book for horses, and my Shetland used to have laminitis, so I would refer to my treasured book for help. One of the remedies was hawthorn - it said it was good for circulation etc. I fed Prince these leaves every day when he was ill, and I am sure it helped him get mobile again.
I have a herbal remedy book for horses, and my Shetland used to have laminitis, so I would refer to my treasured book for help. One of the remedies was hawthorn - it said it was good for circulation etc. I fed Prince these leaves every day when he was ill, and I am sure it helped him get mobile again.
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theabsinthefairy
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We have hawthorn and bramble edging to the grazing field, and I have been gradually cutting back to try to regain some ground - and did wonder why my nag seemed to enjoy the leaves being exposed... maybe she knows some herbalism? and is naturally offsetting the risk of lami with hawthorn and willow?
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DifferentDrummer
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I recon your horse just loves a good eat. I look forward to this time of year when I can get all the young Hawthorne I like.
Picking is easy. Find a long twig of fresh young leaves, grasp lightly near the base and pull along stripping the leaves. The thorns pointout, so either pass through or are stripped as well.
You now have a handful of one of the best snacks around (perhaps beaten by young Lime leaves). You can pick through and discard bits you don't like the look of, or just eat the lot, and spit out any twigs etc. as you go. Or I suppose you could feed it to a goat or horse. I'm pretty certain goats, and probably Horses, will be delighted if you just use shears, and feed them the whole twigs.
The flowers and Haws are both Heart tonic and good for circulation. As far as I remember, being a tonic, they raise low, and lower high blood pressure. Probably good to get checked if you take medication, ad start using hawthorne.
I think "Bread and Cheese" may have been referring to the leaves as the bread, and the Haws as the cheese. I think the flesh of that sort of fruit is often referred to as cheese, and the older leaves, around when the Haws are ripe has a much heavier texture and flavour which offsets well the mealyness of the Haws.
It's well worth checking a number of trees for haws, as flavour and texture vary greatly .
Picking is easy. Find a long twig of fresh young leaves, grasp lightly near the base and pull along stripping the leaves. The thorns pointout, so either pass through or are stripped as well.
You now have a handful of one of the best snacks around (perhaps beaten by young Lime leaves). You can pick through and discard bits you don't like the look of, or just eat the lot, and spit out any twigs etc. as you go. Or I suppose you could feed it to a goat or horse. I'm pretty certain goats, and probably Horses, will be delighted if you just use shears, and feed them the whole twigs.
The flowers and Haws are both Heart tonic and good for circulation. As far as I remember, being a tonic, they raise low, and lower high blood pressure. Probably good to get checked if you take medication, ad start using hawthorne.
I think "Bread and Cheese" may have been referring to the leaves as the bread, and the Haws as the cheese. I think the flesh of that sort of fruit is often referred to as cheese, and the older leaves, around when the Haws are ripe has a much heavier texture and flavour which offsets well the mealyness of the Haws.
It's well worth checking a number of trees for haws, as flavour and texture vary greatly .