All the way back in June Rambling Ratz posted an item about Hawthorn Blossom. It explained a little about the folklore of this very pretty tree; some of it was even quite interesting.
Now here we are in October and the blossom has fruited into shiny red haws. The word haw now refers to such fruits or berries; in old English however, it meant hedge. Hawthorn trees used to be popular hedge making material.
These fruits are a very important winter food source for birds, especially thrushes. Humans also seem to like to turn them into jellies or jams. For the chefs amongst you here is a recipe for a jelly, which makes a good Christmas present apparently.
Much of the folklore revolves around the blossoms and the wood of the hawthorn rather than the berries. Folk have long considered hawthorn berries to be a good tonic for the heart and indeed some medical studies suggest that a hawthorn berry extract may have medicinal properties.
rambling ratz 
How interesting that haw used to mean hedge.
Don’t know how or why haw turned into hedge, language is always evolving.
Great new information for me, thanks.
Good! Thank you.
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