Hawthorn

Scientific name: Crataegus monogyna

Family: Rosaceae

What3Words location: twin.spice.call

Origin: Native

Maximum height: 15 metres

Lives for: up to 400 years

Hawthorn blossom contains the chemical trimethylamine, which is produced when animal tissue decomposes and it was thought to smell of the Great Plague. It therefore has connotations with death, but it is actually used to treat cardiovascular problems. The young flowers and leaves are edible to humans and hawthorn trees and hedges can support over 300 insects.