Hawthorn are in full, spectacular bloom in the Hills at the moment. Our most common species seems to be Crataegus monogyna (mono = one, gyna = seed). I’m that’s guessing, because it has only one seed per fruit. I’ve found another species but haven’t ID it to my satisfaction yet.
I spent most of yesterday foraging for new patches far away from busy roads and was very successful. I’m keeping the locations to myself for now but. All of the Hawthorns have a medicinal aspect to them.
It’s a truly awesome time of year if you love foraging. There’s Hawthorn, many kinds of wild and domesticated Roses, our local Evening Primrose, so many ums, apples and other fruit growing nicely (I love sour plums 😁).
Yesterday’s harvest was washed and drained overnight. Now where am I going to dry all of these? We don’t have a lot of space!
Some of the trees I found were finishing flowering so I grabbed a bit extra from a few trees that were in full bloom because I may not be able to return to the area again this week. Don’t worry though, I left heaps to set fruit and for the critters too!
I’m a bit weird when it comes to harvesting herbal materials. If a plant looks extremely happy or just plain beautiful, I wont harvest it or even photograph it, preferring to keep that special memory… Some of the trees yesterday were just so stunning in full flower that I just sat, breathed and appreciated them but didn’t pick from them.
Plants aren’t here just for us, even though we eat them and make healing remedies from them. They are complex living beings with all that that entails and should be respected as such. Take a few moments from your harvesting just to appreciate their beauty and the wonderful life that they support. If you’re up in the moister, more colonised parts of the hills over the next few days, I thoroughly recommend taking the time to appreciate the beauty that is the Hawthorn tree.
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2 responses to “Hawthorn in the Hills”
kamusta, hope u can use the pots, seeds for perhaps a Precinct event or 2. PZ
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Yes, thank you we can indeed use them. I’ve been a bit slow in getting back to you but really appreciate them.
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