Which variety of Hawthorn trees produce the best berries that are most nutrient dense and safe?

I have been consuming Hawthorn berry powder for about a year now and have seen miraculous health results in some specific key areas. Specifically I have found the Bulk Supplements (dotcom) "Hawthorn Berry Extract" (fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida; Chinese Haw) to be effective for me. I only seem to need about 1/4 teaspoon to be effective in what I use it for. Apparently you can also use leaves for salad or dry and store for medical use too with similar effect it seems as I read.

This got me thinking about growing my own Hawthorn berry trees, but I don't know which variety to invest in. Obviously their thorns are a bit tricky to deal with and they'll have to go live in some specific dedicated locations and/or we'll have to cut their thorns off routinely, but I'm just not sure if I should invest in the variety that are being sold in bulk, of if there's a superior variety.

After looking over the height profiles for the varieties, the following stood out for potentially lowest/easiest harvestability (but I don't know about their health/nutritional value profiles):
• 2-12 ft: Crataegus uniflora (One-Flower Hawthorn)
• 4-10 ft: Crataegus intricate (Copenhagen Hawthorn)
• 10 ft: Crataegus berberifolia (Barberry Leaf Hawthorn)
• 13-16 ft: Crataegus durobrivensis (Caughnawaga Hawthorn)
• 15 ft: Crataegus azarolus (Azarole Hawthorn)
• 15-23 ft: Crataegus pinnatifida (Chinese Hawthorn

Another website suggest that the following are human-edible and human-effective Hawthorn berry trees, but don't indicate if there are other human-edible varieties:
• Crataegus douglassii (Douglas aka Black Hawthorn; 10-25 ft)
• Crataegus pinnatifida (Chinese Hawthorn; seems to be the source of the aforementioned supplement; Zones 5b-9a; 15-23 ft)
• Crataegus monogyna (One-Seed or Single-Seeded Hawthorn; 15-45 ft)
• Crataegus pubescens or maybe Crataegus baroussana (Not clear: I have seen the Mexican Hawthorn or Tejocote Hawthorn referred to by both of these sub-names: pubescens and baroussana; 23 ft)

I suppose ANY of the varieties - even the tall ones below, could be pruned back to keep them in more of a bush format, so perhaps height isn't critical - if they are human edible/effective:

• Crataegus pinnatifida (included above; Chinese Hawthorn; seems to be the source of the aforementioned supplement; Zones 5b-9a)
• Crataegus phaenopyrum (Washington Hawthorn)
• Crataegus arnoldiana (Arnold Hawthorn)
• Crataegus mollis (Arkansas Hawthorn)
• Crataegus berberifolia (included above; Barberry Leaf Hawthorn)
• Crataegus laevigata (Crimson Cloud Hawthorn)
• Crataegus crus-galli (Cockspur Hawthorn)
• Crataegus x lavallei (Lavalle Hawthorn)
• Crataegus douglassii (included above; Douglas aka Black Hawthorn)
• Crataegus punctata (Ohio Pioneer Hawthorn)
• Crataegus viridis (Winter King Southern Hawthorn)
• Crataegus crus-galli var. inermis (Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn)
• Crataegus laevigata (English Hawthorn)
• Crataegus viridis (Green Hawthorn)
• Crataegus opaca (Western Mayhaw Hawthorn)
• Crataegus intricate (Copenhagen Hawthorn)
• Crataegus punctata (Dotted Hawthorn)
• Crataegus aestivalis (May Hawthorn)
• Crataegus monogyna (included above; Single-Seeded Hawthorn)
• Crataegus coccinea (Scarlet Hawthorn)
• Crataegus azarolus (included above; Azarole Hawthorn)
• Crataegus baroussana (? - have also seen called Crataegus pubescens; included above - called: Tejocote or Mexican Hawthorn)
• Crataegus durobrivensis (included above; Caughnawaga Hawthorn)
• Crataegus dodgei (Dodge Hawthorn)
• Crataegus pedicellata (Ellwanger Hawthorn)
• Crataegus engelmannii Sarg (Engelmann Hawthorn)
• Crataegus nigra (European Black Hawthorn)
• Crataegus chrysocarpa (Fireberry Hawthorn)
• Crataegus pruinosa (Frosted/Frosty Hawthorn)
• Crataegus calpodendron (Pear Hawthorn)
• Crataegus coccinioides (Kansas Hawthorn)
• Crataegus uniflora (included above; One-Flower Hawthorn)
• Crataegus submollis (Quebec Hawthorn)
• Crataegus rivularis (River Hawthorn)
• Crataegus lanuginosa (Woolly Hawthorn)

This seems like an interesting project and surely could be useful to understand better how to both grow the appropriate "best" Hawthorn plant variety with the most bang-for-buck human consumption and effectiveness with nutrient density in consideration.

Ultimately since the Chinese Hawthorn appears to be the most productized and distributed variety, it might be the most "safe" to consider. I doubt it is the "best", but I think it might be a good starting point nonetheless due to this distribution characteristic.

Update: I found another variety that is used for sale and human consumption by Starwest Botanicals: CRATAEGUS MONOGYNA (One-Seed or Single-Seeded Hawthorn; 15-45 ft; sold as "Hawthorn Berry Powder Organic").

This seems like an even better variety from reviews and remarks and is indicated as being human consumable.

Good luck with this Greg. So far I only have experience with the fruit of common Hawthorn - Crataegus monogyna, which has small palatable fruit, not sweet or sharp.


Fruiting well - hangs over winter until quite late unless the birds are especially hungry.

I'm trying to grow some bigger fruited haw, since they would be easier for food value, whether bigger fruit are better or worse medicinally I can't tell - if the skin has a significant effect then smaller fruit would be better. I have not studied their medicinal value (other than a note of interest) so can't help with my own experience. Ken Fern is my 'go to' reference and he does give some Crataegus species a higher rating, but I cannot tell from the text why this is - It maybe due to more well known uses of that particular variety rather than a strengthened effect. From the pfaf database I extracted the ones that had the top medicinal rating by Ken: All the other Crataegus they list have a rating of 2,

Latin Name	Common Name	Habit	Height	Hardiness	Growth	Soil	Shade	Moisture	Edible	Medicinal	Other
Crataegus laevigata	Midland Hawthorn, Smooth hawthorn, English Hawthorn	Shrub	6.0	4-8	M	LMH	FSN	MWe	3	5	5
Crataegus monogyna	Hawthorn, Oneseed hawthorn	Shrub	6.0	4-8	M	LMH	SN	MWe	3	5	3
Crataegus cuneata	Sanzashi, Chinese hawthorn	Shrub	15.0	5-9		LMH	SN	MWe	3	3	3
Crataegus pinnatifida	Chinese Haw	Tree	7.0	5-9		LMH	SN	MWe	3	3	2
Crataegus pinnatifida major	Chinese Haw	Tree	7.5	5-9		LMH	SN	MWe	4	3	2

Ken also says the flowers can be used instead of the fruit - and I have made quite a nice cordial with hawthorn flowers which has a slight appley flavour. I guess they would just dry for a medicinal tea.
I would think that all the Crataegus would coppice or pollard to make harvesting easier, although that might affect the fruiting for the next year. Hawthorn itself certainly takes a lot of abuse, and is the main hedging species on Farmland across the UK. I would be inclined to choose a tree that is most suited to your climate zone, as that is most likely to fruit well for you.
I find the leaves of C. monogyna quite nice as a raw leaf in spring, getting tougher as the summer comes in, but the tree doesn't have thorn in it's name for no good reason! Not the worst thorny bush by any means, but something else to bear in mind.

I think Green Dean answers a lot of your questions here: Hawthorne clan - what you can eat

The takeaway is that like apples, don't eat a bunch of the seeds, as they contain a cyanide compound. Same with many stone fruit.

Having eaten a few types, I would say pick the tastiest ones with the least seeds and biggest fruit that can grow in your region. I like to aim for the easiest to prepare and harvest that still grows well near me.

C. monogyna is very convenient as that it's hardy and has one seed. That's the one naturalized across the US, which I've eaten and harvested the most of over the years. Lots for tea and jam.  Removing the seeds for jam is the challenge, but basically you have to cook them a bit and then press through a strainer. Since you have to do this with the single seeded or the native multi-seeded types, it doesn't really matter labor-wise, so it more comes down to taste. Some varieties are very mealy and not flavorful.

In the cooler regions, Chinese Hawthorn can also grow, and it's fruit is a tad bigger. But I must say that what the native hawthorns and C. Monogyna lack in size, they easily make up in production on bumper crop years. However, smaller stuff is a bit harder to pick.

Here is a Chinese hawthorn from Raintree. It's like a little crabapple.
Chinese Haw fruit


Here are recipes from Chinese cooking: Chinese cooking hawthorn fruit

Removing the seeds:


Finishes product from this recipe:


You can see it looks a lot like little crabapples.

If you live in the SE and have a lot of moist ground, you might like the native Mayhaw:
Mayhaw varieties available from Ty Ty nursery

Here is a small Florida nursery selling wild Mayhaws and jelly, too:
Golden Acres Ranch Mayhaws and mayhaw jelly

And here is an article about mayhaws and their use in permaculture:
Mayhaw uses in Permaculture

I believe Burnt Ridge Nursery also has them seasonally.

For other warm regions there is the tejocote, or Mexican Hawthorn.  It grows in zones much warmer than you- zone 9 and up. You can buy it in the US in Mexican grocers near October-December. It has a unique tropical flavor and is used for dishes including a traditional Mexican punch for the holidays.

They are very tasty, the best flavored in my opinion. But again, they only grow in warm climates.


If you want to start any hawthorn from seed, the native ones and the C. monogyna will reseed themselves rather easily. Birds seem to drop them everywhere. In Oregon I never planted any, just wildcrafted for them because they were very plentiful.

But if you want one of those with bigger fruit, I think you might try the way tejocote is started from seed commercially- you have to find a way to get the seed coat to crack.  It's hard, like a little cherry pit. I found directions that worked, finally!  Clean them off as much as reasonably possible, then soak in water a couple days.  Then let dry.  Then soak again. Repeat until the hard shell cracks open.  Then I was able to dry them and keep them refrigerated  over the winter. I planted them in a pot in the greenhouse as it warmed up, and they sprouted in about a month.

And I almost forgot Azarole!  That's one from the Mediterranean, USDA zones 5-9, I believe.
Azarole, the Mediterranean Hawthorn



I love how much variety there is in Hawthorns, like the poster has pointed out.  A hawthorn for almost every landscape and climate.  And I like how loved they are through the world, the temperate and sub tropical. One of the old foods.  I hope you find some you like!

Thank you @Nancy Reading & @Kim Goodwin!!! Being on the border of 5b-6a makes me think that both Crataegus monogyna (single/one seeded) and Crataegus pinnatifida (Chinese) are good candidates. I see the monogyna labeld as English with a lot of sellers oddly.

I have found amazing results over the past year or so with heart trouble and multiple leaky valves that cause murmurs/fluttering. When I skip a few days or a week, I notice the flutter returns, but then after I start up again it nearly immediately goes away. I cannot afford traditional treatment options and have been amazed with this. I have seen other heart conditions seemingly miraculously resolve with this so it's one of those things that I am terrified to be without if supply chains become strained or destroyed!

Additionally after talking it over with the family, we've decided to pull the trigger on these two varieties. We have some public roads on property borders and we have contemplated options for discouraging folks from wandering onto our property in these limited areas. These trees look like fantastic candidates. I'm going to purchase a couple hundred of these seeds and see if we can make a run of it on these areas.

We'll be working on prepping the seeds for planting this fall so that they can go through their cold cycle and hopefully start popping next early spring. Sad that it takes 5-8 years to see fruit, but I suppose that's about the best we can do since I don't really see any solid options for buying trees. Prices range quite a lot and most of what I've seen of these variety are sold out.