In autumn the haw is the lord of our hedgerows

Whole swathes of country hedges are red with haws. If we contrived to harvest them, we’d be millionaires, writes Damien Enright. 

“Haw” was the old English word for hedge, so common were they. They remain common throughout Ireland and, indeed, many herbal remedy companies sell haw concoctions or concoctions containing haws as curatives, food supplements and as safe and effective treatments for the early stages of heart disease.

Haws are as rich in Vitamin C as rose hips, and far more plentiful. Their tangy taste derives from the tannin in which they are also rich. Many of my rural readers will have tried them when they were schoolchildren. Sweet, meaty haws were a treat enjoyed by country kids from generation to generation. The blackberries go, the haws come on, growing more floury in texture as they become swollen and fat. No wonder birds flock to the hawthorns and redwings and fieldfare fly from Scandinavia to survive the winter on Irish haws.