Species: Hawthorn

Pollen Record

Arrival of Colour: Dartmoor's Pollen Record

The history of plants on Dartmoor is known from only a handful of studies which have been conducted on Dartmoor. Each of the studies has taken a sliver of dirt, and then examined it under a microscope to find the pollen from the plants that have grown here over time.

Species: Hawthorn

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

Identification A small tree with thorns, white flowers, and pink anthers. Annual fruit, haws, are red berries. Flowers share a smelly chemical, trimethylamine, with that of decaying flesh. Botany Hawthorns will grow hundreds of years but, seeds take two winters to germinate. Leaves are edible. Lore Seen as both a