Our twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth trees are the Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) & the Midland Thorn (Crataegus laevigata). Once David stops blathering about the ‘Holy Thorn’ - a fascinating twice-flowering genetic variant of the Hawthorn that has inspired pilgrimages and postal stamps - he’ll tell you why one Hawthorn is far more prevalent than the other (despite the opposite originally being true), how superstitious the Irish are about their bushes, and why Shakespeare May or May not know what he’s talking about. (Many thanks to Tom Bateman for his contribution to this week's episode.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Weekly episodes available early AND bonus content made free to forage by "Subscribtion Squirrels" on our Patreon. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.