How to identify hawthorn, crab apple and rowan trees

The trees growing in British hedgerows are often the most common. If you grew up in the countryside, you will no doubt be familiar with the old wives tales associated to the hawthorn bush and the joy of moulding hazel twigs into trusty, but harmless, weapons. Here, Lia Leendertz explains how you can identify the much-loved rowan, hawthorn and crab apple trees throughout the seasons and lists key features of each.

Sorbus aucuparia – Rowan

The rowan tree lives a double life. Due to its extreme hardiness and its tolerance of tough conditions, rowan is found higher up mountainsides than any other tree except the silver birch, and is often called the mountain ash because of this. But it is also one of the most domesticated of trees, often planted well away from its wilder habitat. It frequents gardens in towns and in the countryside, where it never gets too big for its bounds and its neat habit, pretty spring blossom and autumn display of lipstick-red berries can be appreciated up close. This association of homes and rowans is not purely ornamental, however, and harks back to a belief that the rowan has protective qualities. It has long been widely planted near doorways as protection against witches and other bad spirits.

1. Bark

   The bark is smooth, shiny and grey. Winter twigs are grey and young trees have hairy buds.

Malus sylvestris – Crab apple

One of the prettiest small trees there is, the crab apple is more often seen in gardens than it is in the wild. Its compact size and two distinct seasons of interest make it suitable for small gardens: in spring it is covered in big white and pink blossom, and in autumn it bears beautiful miniature apples that can hang on the tree for months. However, it can still be found in relics of old oak woodlands and in sheltered spots on the edges of forests, as well as in hedgerows. It is an ancestor of the cultivated apple and can live for up to 100 years, becoming ever more gnarled and twisted as it ages. Lichens cover the branches of older trees and the crab apple is one of the few plants that plays host to mistletoe, so you may see evergreen bunches of this Christmas favourite in the branches once the leaves have fallen.

1. Bark

   The rough, flecked, grey-brown bark cracks as it ages, the trunk grows gnarled and twisted, and the twigs can develop spines.

Crataegus monogyna – Hawthorn

Hawthorn is one of the most common plants in the English countryside, and is most often seen as a hedge around permanent pasture. This is because it has been the principal plant of field enclosure since Tudor times, its dense, spiny growth making a perfect stock-proof hedge. It has several common names – hawthorn, quickthorn, whitethorn and May – the latter after the month in which it produces frothy white flowers, one of the spectacles of the natural year. It is also seen as a gnarled and characterful small tree, particularly in more remote areas. Leaves and flowers are sometimes added to salads, and the berries are used in jam making and to create syrup rich in vitamin C. There are many superstitions around hawthorn, and bringing branches into the house is associated with illness and death.

1. Bark

   Very young stems have a reddish colour turning red-brown, with thorns protruding below the leaf joints and sometimes at the tips of the shoots. Older bark is brown, fissured and cracked.

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