Introduction to Hawthorn Hawthorn Origin and Growth Environment

Hawthorn is one of the most commonly used Chinese herbal medicines. Its main function is to aid digestion and stimulate appetite. Eating Shandong hawthorn can help you eat more.

hawthorn

Also known as "Shanlihong" and "Rouge Fruit", it is a small deciduous tree of the Rosaceae family. Its bark is dark gray with light yellow lenticels, its twigs are purple-brown, its leaves are alternate or clustered on short branches, its leaves are broadly ovate, its inflorescence is corymbose, its flowers are white and turn pink later, its fruits are spherical, dark red when ripe, and have small light-colored spots on the surface.

Hawthorn trees grow in valleys or mountain bushes. They are adaptable and easy to cultivate. They have neat crowns, luxuriant branches and leaves, and delicious flowers and fruits. Therefore, they are also good ornamental trees for greening fields and gardens. Legend has it that in the past, Europeans believed that hawthorns could block demons and evil magic, so hawthorns were often planted on the edge of yards and fields as barriers.

Hawthorn fruit is sweet and sour, can quench thirst, in addition to fresh food, but also can be made into hawthorn slices, fruit jelly, hawthorn cake, red jam, preserved fruit, hawthorn wine, etc. Hawthorn slices and hawthorn fruit jelly are the most common and popular foods.

Hawthorn can also be used as medicine. It has the effects of digesting food, removing stagnation, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It has been regarded as a good product for health-preserving food therapy since ancient times. The first person in Europe to record the medicinal effects of hawthorn was Dioscrides in the 1st century. The local Indians in America also knew the medicinal effects of hawthorn. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia "New Materia Medica" also records: Hawthorn can treat spleen deficiency, dampness and heat, digest food, remove stagnation, and promote urination.

Hawthorn Origin

Hawthorn is mainly produced in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Shanxi, Guangxi and other provinces in China. Jingxi County in Guangxi is the origin of large-fruit hawthorn, which is distributed in all towns and villages. There is a long history and custom of planting and processing large-fruit hawthorn there. According to the "Guishun Prefecture Chronicle" of the Qing Dynasty in 1899, Jingxi large-fruit hawthorn products are exported to China and Southeast Asia, and are well-known in the market.

Hawthorn growing environment

Hawthorn grows on sunny hillsides, at the edge of mixed woods, between shrubs, and in vegetable forests at an altitude of 400 to 1,000 meters. It has strong adaptability, is easy to cultivate, has a neat crown, luxuriant branches and leaves, is less susceptible to pests and diseases, and has delicious and lovely flowers and fruits. Therefore, it is also a good ornamental tree species for greening fields and gardens.

Hawthorn varieties

Hawthorns are divided into two types according to their taste: sweet and sour. Sweet hawthorns are pink in color, small in size, smooth in surface, and slightly sweet in taste. Sour hawthorns are divided into several varieties, including Waibahong, Dajinxing, Damianqiu, and ordinary hawthorns (the earliest hawthorn variety). Waibahong is named because its fruit stalk has a slight bulge, which looks like the fruit stalk is crooked. The single fruit of Waibahong hawthorn is larger than that of normal hawthorns. Dajinxing has a single fruit that is slightly larger than Waibahong, and it is named because there are small dots on the surface when it is ripe. It has the heaviest taste and is particularly sour.

The large cotton ball has the largest single fruit, moderate acidity, is basically not processed when eaten, and has a short shelf life. The common hawthorn is the earliest variety of hawthorn. It is small in size and has hard flesh. It is suitable for medicinal use and is the main raw material for canned hawthorn sold on the market.