Hawthorn Tree's Fall beauty

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Hawthorn berries
Last June I wrote an article about the beauty and sustainable value of Hawthorn trees, Crataegus.

Hawthorn fruit hangs in clusters
Now it's October and our largest tree, which we received free with a membership to the Audubon Society 15 years ago, is decked out in its red-orange splendor.

They are related to roses, of all things. But, when you think about it, those berries look a bit like rose hips.

The berries are called haws.



I've read that people make Haw Jam out of the berries but we usually have enough jam without harvesting our Hawthorn berries or our Elderberries for that matter.

Plus, the haws can cause digestive upset in humans.

the thorns are incredible

 The berries aren't ripe yet so the birds will leave them alone for a while. The birds that favor haws include: chickadee, mockingbirds,  robins, thrushes, and waxwings will be all over them.
Hawthorn trees provide berries for food and thorns to protect nests from predators

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