hawthorn

Any of various shrubs and small trees of the genus Crataegus having small, apple-like fruits and thorny branches

Proust, an author to whom Humboldt had introduced me and in whose work he gave me heavy instruction, said he was often attracted to people whose faces had something in them of a hawthorn hedge in bloom.

In fact, a railway lined with hedgerows and shrubs would be perfect for reliability and biodiversity. Hawthorn, for example, can take a good cut and grow back strongly, while still providing shelter for creatures and acting as a natural fence line. Even palisade fencing can be climbed by a determined trespasser, but a good-size hawthorn hedge, lined with thorns and the inevitable brambles, is a serious obstacle.

A surname.

A borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States.

An inner suburb of Melbourne in the City of Boroondara, Victoria, Australia.

A suburb of Adelaide, in the City of Mitcham, South Australia.

A village and civil parish in County Durham, England (OS grid ref NZ4145).