Haws

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) appears to be having a good year so far, trees covered in blossom at Beltane are now heavy with burgeoning haws as the Solstice approaches.

Haws

 

It is a real bumper year for Haws, the forests' Hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna) are putting on quite the show. If you'd ever considered collecting haws for making jams and jellies or maybe for their medicinal qualities making syrups, teas and tinctures then this would appear to be a good year. I think I may have made Haw wine once? You can eat the fleshy ones straight off the bough too, though try and spit the seeds out, they're a bit cyanide-y. That aside the berries are bloody good for you.

Bumper haws

It's a bumper season for haws; definitely a success in what's been a thin year for many wild fruits and nuts. I've not seen a Hawthorn that hasn't been laden with pillar box red berries. Tree lore says, that a good crop of haws means a hard winter to come, they'll provide the forest's birds with a welcome meal then.