Tag Archives: Hawthorn

Hawthorn flowering in November

26 Wednesday Nov 2025

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The Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is also known as the May-tree, the only British tree to be named for the month in which it usually blooms. And, though its blossom does frequently appear a month or so earlier in the year, it does not normally flower in late autumn. Yet, this is what I saw on Sunday’s walk around the edge of my town, a Hawthorn in bloom and bearing berries. Mine is not the only sighting of this unusual phenomenon; when I posted a photo on social media, I was alerted to reports of at least three similar sightings across the UK, and I’m sure there must be more. If anyone ever doubts how much our climate is changing and how this will affect our natural environment, our flora and fauna, occurrences like this should be enough to banish those doubts.

Autumn trees: Hawthorn

02 Sunday Nov 2025

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The Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is not really a tree we notice for its foliage, though its leaves were, apparently, one of the models for the foliage that wreathes the faces of Green Men seen in carvings in churches.

And, according to Richard Mabey’s Flora Britannica, Bread-and-cheese is a vernacular name given to the leaves of the Hawthorn in some places around Britain. He says: ‘This is usually explained as referring to their rudimentary culinary qualities’ but then quotes a correspondent who writes:

We would pick the red berries and green leaves in the autumn. These were known as “bread and cheese” – the leaf the bread, the berry the cheese.

In the autumn, though the leaves of the Hawthorn do, of course, change colour, the hues are mostly yellow and brown, with just the merest hint of red. So it’s the stunning red berries rather than the tree’s leaves that makes the Hawthorn stand out in the autumnal landscape. I’ve never tried eating the berries but Mabey notes that the ‘flesh is a little like overripe avocado pear or, more fancifully, a whey cheese.’ That doesn’t sounds very appetising to me so I think I’ll continue to admire, not to eat them.

Leafmines: Parornix anglicella revisited

14 Monday Oct 2024

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Recently, when checking Hawthorn leaves for leafmines, I spotted two of these larvae spinning on separate but close Hawthorn bushes so took several photos of both and a short video of one.

241014 Parornix anglicella (1)

As the majority of photographs show larvae from above not below, and these both looked to have dark spot-like markings, I was confused about which species they might be, perhaps Parornix anglicella or maybe Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae. And I wasn’t the only one scratching my head, as my online expert contacts weren’t sure either – one of them even contacted their own expert to get an opinion. A return visit by me was clearly required, to try to re-find the larvae, possibly get more images, and see what had developed from their spinning activities.

So, while the location was fresh in my memory, I walked that way again the following day, and, amazingly, managed to find one of the leaves – not an easy task finding an individual leaf in a Hawthorn bush but the photo below shows the leaf in question, on consecutive days.

241014 Parornix anglicella (2)

And, when I turned the leaf over, there was the proof of identification, the distinctive cone of Parornix anglicella, still very green as the larva within hadn’t yet had time to eat all the leaf from inside. Turns out the expert’s expert had been correct!

241014 Parornix anglicella (3)

Leafmines: Coleophora siccifolia

22 Monday Jul 2024

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As often happens, my search for these leafmines was inspired by a post on Twitter/X. In this instance, George, a locally based senior ecologist with Butterfly Conservation, posted that he had found, for the first time in Glamorgan, the larval cases of the tiny moth Coleophora siccifolia. The find site was on a part of the south Wales coastal path within bus-and-walking distance from home so, on the next fine day, off I set.

240722 Coleophora siccifolia (1)

Searching the leaves of Hawthorn, I found lots of evidence where Coleophora larvae had been feeding. As they live in cases, there’s usually a tiny hole where the larva has parked its case and poked its head and part of its body inside the layers of the leaf to feed, thus creating a distinctive blotch (as you can see in the photograph above).

240722 Coleophora siccifolia (2)

As the British leafminers website relates, the larvae also mine the leaves of Apple, Rowan and Birch, and the cases they create from bits of leaves are quite distinctive. George had found several cases but I only managed to find one, and that one was empty. Still, now that we know Coleophora siccifolia can be found locally, I’ll keep on looking for more.

Leafmines: Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

23 Monday Oct 2023

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I thought I’d already shared this leafmine but it seems not so say hello to the Hawthorn midget (Phyllonorycter corylifoliella), a very attractive chestnut –and-white moth, which can be viewed on the UK Moths website and whose larvae mine the leaves of various Rosaceous trees and shrubs. As you can probably see, the mines I’ve found have been on Hawthorn (Crataegus species) but they also mine Apple (Malus sp.) and Cherry (Prunus sp.)

231023 Phyllonorycter corylifoliella (1)

The mines, which are found on the upperside of the leaves, look almost silvery and contains strings of brown frass, can be found in July, and again in September –October. The adult moths are active in May and August, though I’ve not seen one yet.

231023 Phyllonorycter corylifoliella (2)

Imperfect concealment

12 Tuesday Sep 2023

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Is it a canny eye for detail or simply good luck that both these Green woodpeckers chose Hawthorn trees bedecked with red berries to perch on?

230912 green woodpecker (1)

The combination of green leaves, red berries and beige-ish bark and branches is almost a perfect match for the joyful colours of the birds but, if this is an attempt at camouflage, though they haven’t quite nailed it I’d give them an eight out of ten for effort.

230912 green woodpecker (2)

Beauty is a bunting

20 Saturday Aug 2022

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More birds are out and about now that they’ve finished the exhausting process of raising young and refreshed their look through their annual feather moult, and it’s been a joy to see and hear them more often during my daily walks. This Reed bunting was showing off its fresh look to perfection amongst the berries of a large old Hawthorn tree.

220820 reed bunting

314/366 Leaf mines: Parornix anglicella

09 Monday Nov 2020

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Here’s another leaf mine to look for in your local hedgerows, a very distinctive mine on Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) made by the larvae of the micro moth Parornix anglicella, also known as the Hawthorn slender.

201109 parornix anglicella cones (1)

Although the newly hatched moth larva initially creates a corridor mine and then a blotch, it later makes itself a cone-shaped tent, using silk to adhere the bent-over edge to the main part of the leaf, and these cones are very easy to spot. Turn over the leaf to view the underside and you’ll find incredibly beautiful, almost sculptural structures, some resembling miniature latticework pyramids.

You can read more scientific detail about the leaf mine on the UK Fly Mines website here, and see what the adult moth looks like on the UK Moths website here.

201109 parornix anglicella cones (6)