Photo: Daniel Manrique (roadmr@entropia.com.mx), CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Tejocote (Mexican Hawthorn)
Crataegus mexicana
Also known as Tejocote, Mexican Hawthorn, Manzanita, Mexican Thorn Apple
Key benefits
✦Traditional uses
✦Long before it became famous as the little golden fruit bobbing in a pot of Christmas ponche, tejocote held a steady place in Mexican home remedies, where its tart apple-like fruit was simmered into syrups and teas for coughs, sore throats, and upset stomachs. As a member of the hawthorn genus, it carries the same reputation the Crataegus family has held in folk medicine across the world, that of a gentle friend to the heart, traditionally used to support healthy circulation. Grandmothers across Mexico have long kept a jar of tejocote candy or syrup on hand each winter, part remedy and part beloved seasonal treat.
How to grow & use it
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- ✦Remedies & preparations
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- ✦European hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
“For the season when orchards turn gold and the whole house smells of simmering cinnamon and winter fruit.”
Tejocote is the heart of Mexico's traditional Christmas ponche, and its name comes from the Nahuatl word texocotl, meaning stone fruit, a nod to the hard little seeds tucked inside its tart, golden flesh.
Tejocote fruit and flowers may interact with heart medications, blood pressure drugs, and blood thinners, so caution is needed if you're on cardiac medication. Remove and discard the seeds before eating, and avoid medicinal use during pregnancy.