HAWTHORN BERRY (Crataegus oxycantha)  aka - English Hawthorn, Mayflower, May Bush, Mayblossom

The Hawthorn tree has long been regarded as sacred in the Christian tradition, due to the belief that the crown of thorns placed on the head of Christ was from this tree. In fact, a grove of Hawthorn trees still stand outside of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. Hawthorn has the ability to increase oxygen utilization by the heart, it increases enzyme metabolism in the heart muscle, and it acts as a very mild dilator of coronary vessels and serves as a peripheral vasodilator, thereby lowering blood pressure and reducing the burden placed on the heart. Hawthorn is used primarily as a cardiac tonic and considered valuable for improvement of cardiac weakness, while mitigating angina pectoris, or valve murmurs from heart valve defects, an enlarged heart, nerve depression or unexplained chronic fatigue. It is also very effective in relieving restlessness and insomnia.