One of humankind’s oldest companions, the hawthorn tree, is bound up in the memories of every recorded age and the plot lines of cultures all across the Northern Hemisphere. Set in Montana, China, Tasmania and Europe, Bill Vaughn’s book examines the little-recognized political, cultural and natural history of this ancient spiky plant.
Used for thousands of years in the impenetrable living fences that defined the landscapes of Europe, the hawthorn eventually helped feed the class antagonism that led to widespread social upheaval. In the American Midwest, hawthorn-inspired hedges on the prairies made 19th century farming economically rewarding for the first time. Later, in Normandy, mazelike hedgerows bristling with these thorns nearly cost the Allies World War II.
The author first encountered the tree when he and his wife purchased a plot of land near Missoula they dubbed “Dark Acres” and sought to rid it of a patch of thorny bushes. The intractable jungle turned out to be a single hawthorn tree, which set Vaughn on the path to this “jack-of-all-trees story,” praised by Science News as “a compelling read, spiced with arcane history and Vaughn’s own anecdotes.”
In just over 200 pages, he shines light on the full scope of the tree’s influence over human events. He also explores medicinal uses of the hawthorn in China and on Indian reservations in Montana, the use of its fruit in the world’s first wine, and the symbolic role its spikes and flowers played in pagan beliefs and Christian iconography.
As entertaining as it is illuminating, this book is the first full appreciation of the hawthorn’s abundant connections with humanity.
The Missoula author writes for many publications about topics ranging from adventure sports to fashion to the paper industry. Also a graphic artist, he has designed more than 400 books.