Bread and butter
The flowers are also edible, though I never tried them. However, I used to enjoy the red berries, or haws, which ripen in early autumn. I stopped eating them in my early teens when my sister had small children and I was out walking with them. Fifteen years older than me, my sister didn’t think it was a good idea to encourage children to eat unknown red berries, and she was right. Strangely, I don’t know why my elder sister didn’t know, as it was our Hampshire-born father who told me about hawthorn bread and butter - perhaps she had forgotten.
Hawthorn, or May, trees are known as fairy trees and it is considered unlucky to bring may blossom into the house. It shares this distinction with lilac (and peacock feathers!)
Bread and cheese (or butter) is applied to other plants that can be foraged, but I suspect much folk lore is gradually being lost.
I cannot see any sign of berries forming, though there were plenty of flowers in the spring. I’m too impatient, I think. Time will tell!
Hawthorn is also called May-tree, Hawberry, Quickthorn, Thornapple, Whitethorn, Mayflower. It is closely related to roses. It is the tree which is intended to inform people when it is safe to discard a few layers of clothes - 'Ne'er cast a clout till may be out.'
I don't think it's very reliable. June can be sunny and warm, but it can also blow cold and wet, and then it feels more like November and a warm fire is required.
Our ancestor knew more than we do about plants for food and medicine. Aboriginal knowledge here about plants is very surprising.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pity that we do not value the knowledge of others.
DeleteMy sisters used to pick bread and cheese from hedges on the way to school, in North Yorkshire.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you try it, too?
DeleteI couldn't walk that far, just a toddler at home, hedges were a couple of miles down the road.
DeleteYou remind me that I knew people in my childhood who feared bringing may into the house. They said it was the bringer of death.
ReplyDeleteSo many superstitions, brought about through coincidence, no doubt.
DeleteI never heard of a tree's leaves being referred to as bread and butter or bread and cheese. Maybe it's a British thing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the term is not familiar, but the eating of hawthorn leaves is known across the world, where those trees are native.
DeleteIt's fascinating how much tradition, memory, and quiet magic is woven into the hawthorn, and I quite agree that its seasonal signals are charming, if not entirely dependable
ReplyDeleteWe should value our trees more than we do. They're not just the lungs of the earth, but the providers of shelter, food and fuel.
DeleteI recently heard an indigenous person say, of the forests and foragin: they are our kitchens, our pantries, our pharmacies, our clothing store, and our shelter.
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely true. From natural remedies we learn to create synthetic ones.
DeleteDidn't know you could eat the leaves. I tried making jelly from the berries once but too much tannin. After a year or two it had matured a bit and I used it when cooking pickled pork.
ReplyDeleteWaste not, want not.
DeleteIt's a very pretty tree.
ReplyDeleteI hope it will provide another haven for wildlife.
DeleteWe are surrounded by Hawthorn trees but I have never thought to eat them!
ReplyDeleteA little goes a long way, so don't collect bushels of leaves. 😉
DeleteHi Janice - I hadn't heard that term for the Hawthorn trees ... Bob has the right comment from the indigenous world - totally lost by man (most) in our modern world. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteSucceeding generations lose more and more touch with the natural world. It's sad.
DeleteI have been using my home grown fruits to show our grandchildren where their fruits come from, the first lesson is they never pick anything, if they see something which looks ripe they find an adult to ask if it's safe to eat. Molly double checks the strawberry plants every visit, and enjoys finding all the ripe ones.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Molly - caution and double-checking are good habits to develop.
DeleteIt is so good when our grandchildren can learn from us. One of mine learnt to overcome her nervousness about blueberries when she picked some in our garden and enjoyed them.
The nearest I have got to making foraged food was sloe gin from blackthorn bushes in the woods and hedges behind us.... that was very easy. The may blossom is so pretty and yours is a lovely and unusual colour.
ReplyDeleteSloe gin is something I always intend to make, but never do. Delicious, warming drink.
DeleteWhat a beautiful flower that Hawthorne tree is going to have. We had a hall fun tree at our old house but it had white flowers. I always thought the birds would eat the berries but I was disappointed that they never seem to.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they took them while you weren't looking! 😎
DeleteThis is the first time I've heard of leaves being called bread and butter. There are so many plants that are edible but I would be afraid of trying any of them. With my luck I would pick something that is poisonous.
ReplyDeleteIt is too easy to make mistakes . . .
DeleteYou seem to have a wonderful space for plants and trees.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a garden that would please everyone. It's full, but untidy and largely untamed, rather like our house, actually.
DeleteI got into foraging for wild food (in a small way) for a while in my 30's, but it is something you have to be very careful about. I have never heard of any wild edible being called bread and butter or bread and cheese
ReplyDeleteI would never attempt to forage wild mushrooms - too easy to pick the wrong ones!
DeleteWhen you were talking about bread and butter, I thought you were talking about lettuce.
ReplyDeleteLettuce is tastier than hawthorn leaves!
DeleteI've tried them but they just seemed to taste like leaves!
ReplyDeleteThey're an acquired taste . . . and children will eat anything!
Deletethis took me back to 70 years ago, picking wild strawberries and wild black berries in KY with my parents. We tend to look at things different now than then. I don't remember ever trying to eat any other berries but I do see the sisters point. I don't eat leaves or flowers even though the great WWW says I can... waiting to see how pretty yours gets and what it taste like
ReplyDeleteFlowers make a pretty addition to salad, but they don't usually taste of very much.
DeleteThank you for these fascinating facts about Hawthorn, which by the way is called Meidoorn (May Thorn) in Flemish. I wonder if there's a similar name for the young leaves of hawthorn trees in Flemish, but wasn't able to find out. xxx
ReplyDeleteMeidoorn seems a most apt name. Why are names in other languages so much more attractive?
DeleteI think you are right that we have lost folk tales. We have also lost valuable knowledge about plants. You chose a lovely hawthorn for your garden!
ReplyDeleteWe haven't learnt at our parents' and grandparents' knees, and are naturally cautious about trying unfamiliar things.
DeleteHow interesting. I had no idea about the leaves.
ReplyDeleteI don't think hawthorn leaves will ever be a commercial proposition. 😉
DeleteYour post had me smiling with sweet memories of my dear mum!
ReplyDeleteOne of her favourite sayings (and bless her she had many) was...
'Ne'er cast a clout till may be out.'
Have a happy weekend and lets hope the threatened thunderstorms aren't too bad.
All the best Jan
The thunderstorms usually seem to pass us by - famous last words. Happy weekend, Jan.
DeleteA lovely blog post and really interesting! And I do so agree that we should value our trees more than we do! Too many areas are chopping down trees for houses to be built. We recently fought such a planning application and luckily we won but many don’t! Luckily, we’ve managed to get the whole area covered by a TPO.
ReplyDeleteSadly, our area is gradually being overcome with unsuitable, ugly, 'executive' housing. The infrastructure isn't there, of course, though the planners always maintain that they will ensure there are sufficient schools, doctors, dentists, green spaces. Funnily enough, the money always runs out.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your success.
That is a very pretty variety of Hawthorn. Our tree had lots of white blooms when it flowered. I just went down the garden to check and there are lots of berries forming. I hope your tree has lots of berries too. I had never heard of the leaves referred to as bread and butter before.
ReplyDeleteIt's only the second year that we've had the hawthorn, so maybe it's still settling in!
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