Ipsophyto

Cratageus oxycantha/monogyna   Rosacea family

This tree is a truly remarkable species, common as you like, up and down the UK.

It is a common hedge plant and you can find it at the edges of woodlands, even as little groves of its own in some districts as well as it being a tree happy on its own in a myriad random places.

There are far to numerous hawthorns to mention ( more thn 200 speices plus cultivars and hybrids a-plenty, so im sticking to the two most common species we are likey to find in the wild, and it is pleasing to know the medicinal benefits are very similar and we can use either one interchangably.

The ‘Mayflower’ as they are commonly known by this author is a beautiful shrubby tree crossover, sometimes sprouting numerous suckers and sometimes growing up a standard single trunk. 

It has terminal branches decorated with sharp inch long thorns with  reasonably small leaves which are generally lobed into three distinct sections. (leaf lobe depth being one of the defining characteristics when it comes to positively identifying species, another being the number of seeds within the ‘haws’…monogyna therefore meaning one ovary, one seed)

The leaves breaking out are one of the first woodland species to herald the returning spring, breaking bud generally around the end of February, and within a couple of months,  swelling flower buds soon burst into spectacular display, revealing the common white flowers, beloved of Beltane lovers everywhere.

The flowers comprise of five petals ( as most of the rose family do) with numerous stamens producing a gorgeous pink inner flush to the corolla although many parks throughout the land have chosen a red flower cultivar which you may have seen, which may explain its appearance in the wild every now and again.

As apparant from its common name aforementioned, this plant is full in flower at end of April/beginning of May.

At this time of year the flowers and leaves will yield one of the most potent heart medicines you can get….anti-oxidants in the form of Oligomeric proanthocyanidans! These anti-oxidants are being saluted by the Daily mail as amazing anti-aging, pro-good health compounds for which you could pay £50 for a few grams of exotic berries shipped from halfway arounfd the world.

No need my friends, for we have the superfoods on our doorstep, its just that…surprise surprise, hawthorns arent being advertised because they are free. There is probably no better heart tonic in the land. Just the thing that stressed out 21st century males need i reckon. Anything is better than the array of mess-you-up-and-keep-you-hooked-statin drugs and beta-blockers so loved by the doctors in cahoots with pharmaceutical companies

But better than this is the fact thet come the autumn and early winter, we can go back to the same trees we visited for leaves and flowers early in the season and then harvest the berries which are EVEN MORE rammed with the Oligomeric pro-anthocyanidans contained within the pigments found in the haws.

Ok, the common or garden haws are not superbly tasting off the hedgerow plants, due to their small size and tough living conditions, but they are more than palatable raw, yet even better processed into a fruit leather Ray Mears stylee. With this process,  aonce mealy and unsweet berry takes on an amazing sweetness due to its internal acids conversion to sugars within the oxidised fruit.

Medicinal constituents include:

Flavonoid glycosides inncluding rutin & quercitrin. Sapponins, coumarin, cyanogenic glycosides, trimethylamine, condensed tannins.

Pharmacology:

The flavonoid fraction is vaso-dilatory as also is condensed tannins. They not only dilate the peripheral circulation significantly but have a specific action on the coronary circulation.

There are numerous hawthorn species which have beautiful tastin berries. In University parks Oxford, there are at least a dozen species which have orange, scarlet, brown and soft red haws, all exhibiting a diverse array of flavours ranging from peach to apple and orange scents. These bigger fruiting varieties are available from suppliers such as the Agro-forestry research trust in Dartington, Devon.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is a member of the Boraginaceae family together with the ‘forget-me-nots’, the ‘green alkanet’ and borage, obviously.

Comfrey is possibly the most effective and prized mucillaginous healing remedy in the materia medica. The plant is used for cuts and grazes, lesions and to help large wounds, bone fractures, torn cartilage, tendons and ligaments, with the tannins and astringency of the plant enabling it to draw wounds together.

The plant is distinguished by its large, braodly lanceloate leaves (upto 30cm long and more) arising from a ground level rosette of leaves as well as its pendulous array of bell shaped flowers.

Firstly, the leaves are set on long, relatively thick petioles, which once snapped, reveal the mucillaginous substances so prized by the medicl professions. The leaves are notably coarse and hairy with distinctive vein patterns on them similar to both borage and the green alkanet. Be careful to correctly i/d the comfrey plant  rather than another well known species with a similar looking leaf which belongs to the foxglove. (if only because the latter is substantially more toxic than the former should you fancy grazing on the foliage!)

One way of distinguishing from afar is to evaluate the habitat you are wandering through. If you are near streams or rivers  or on wet ground it is likely the plant may be comfrey, whereas the foxglove abounds in places such as roadsides, old and crumbling boundry walls of fields as well as within its classic habitat of woodland where it survives inside the heart of the woodland and not just as well as the woodland edge.

The flowering stem of the common comfrey rises on average about 1metre 30 cm although larger is not uncommon. Flowers are borne on cymes on forked stalks above the top leaves which appear in an almost  saggitate form as they arise on the flower stem. Each stem support one sided racemes of mauve, pink or white flowers curving downwards. Seeds are little nutlets which appear inside the flowers in groups of four.

The root when unearthed is thick, quite short and many branched from a sometimes large crown. It has a black root ’sheath’ being white within. It vegetatively propagates itself from this crown by means of underground stems(rhizomes) and the gardener is advised to be careful when placing or removing common comfrey, for  it will creep and take over patches of ground unless the suitable cultivar ‘bocking 14′ is purchased, (which is clump forming and does not spread) whilst any shards or mere splinters of root will readily re-emerge and grow on. I have comitted this great garden sin and am not sure if my friend truly has forgiven me for making a comfrey jungle in her home in kentish town!

Medicinal parts used.

The leaves and root.

Although much propaganda has been written about the dangers of liver damge by the powerful alkaloids present in the root, it needs to be said the animals in the experiments which gleaned such information had been fed a diet comprising solely of comfrey root. Now i dont know anyone who would be a)advocating such a diet for humans or b) silly enough to try it.

Suffice it to say that the dangers of toxic doses from comfrey root remain very very slim due to the minute amounts present per serving when used as medicine. That said, i would advise using with care and if not sure seek a professional herbalist for advice. The leaf is safe and is widely used throughout europe for a number of maladies.

Active constituents

Comfrey contains a number of useful medicinal compounds including: Allantoin, tannins, mucillage, gums, resins, pyrrolizidine alkaloids( reportedly toxic to liver and including symphitine, cynoglosine, consolidine) inulin.

Pharmacology

The allantoin is known to produce and promote constructive activity of fibroblasts in producing connective tissue, as well as chondroblasts (Cartilage) and osteoblasts (bone), even neural cells. It promotes keratin dispersal and has been used topically on psoriarsis. Allantoin is highly difusable and its presence means scarring is less likely. Ask Gary Lineker, the former England striker how good the plant is …for he used it to recover from a broken leg during his career and continued playing at the highest level.

The tannins and resins add with mucillage to comfrey’s ‘plaster action’. The aquaeous extract of the plant increases release of prostaglandins from the stomach wall…which suggests a direct action in protecting the gastric mucosa from damage.

The presence of hepatoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids is a concern for internal use of the root, although quantities relate to species and cultivar. The leaf has negligable amounts. Overall quantities are reduced by drying and metabolising.