Prunus spinosa

:"Blackthorn redirects here; for other uses, see Blackthorn (disambiguation)"Taxobox
name = "Prunus spinosa"

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image_width = 240px
image_caption = Fruit
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Rosales
familia = Rosaceae
subfamilia = Prunoideae
genus = "Prunus"
subgenus = "Prunus"
sectio = "Prunus"
species = "P. spinosa"
binomial = "Prunus spinosa"
binomial_authority = L.

"Prunus spinosa" (Blackthorn or Sloe) is a species of "Prunus" native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa.Rushforth, K. (1999). "Trees of Britain and Europe". Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.] Den Virtuella Floran: [http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/rosa/prunu/prunspiv.jpg"Prunus spinosa" map] ]

It is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall, with blackish bark and dense, stiff, spiny branches. The leaves are oval, 2–4.5 cm long and 1.2–2 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The flowers are 1.5 cm diameter, with five slightly creamy-white petals; they are produced shortly before the leaves in early spring, and are hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated. The fruit, called a "sloe" is a drupe 10–12 mm diameter, black with a pale purple-blue waxy bloom, ripening in autumn, and harvested in October or November - usually after the first frosts. They are thin-fleshed, with a very strongly astringent flavour when fresh.

It is frequently confused with the related cherry plum ("Prunus cerasifera"), particularly in early spring when the latter starts flowering somewhat earlier than "P. spinosa". They can be distinguished by flower colour, creamy white in "P. spinosa", pure white in "P. cerasifera". They can also be distinguished in winter by the more shrubby habit with stiffer, wider-angled branches of "P. spinosa", and in summer by the relatively narrower leaves of "P. spinosa", more than twice as long as broad.Vedel, H., & Lange, J. (1960). "Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow". Metheun & Co. Ltd., London.]

Ecology

The foliage is sometimes eaten by the larvae of Lepidoptera including Emperor Moth, Common Emerald, November Moth, Pale November Moth, Mottled Pug, Green Pug, Brimstone Moth, Feathered Thorn, Brown-tail, Yellow-tail, Short-cloaked Moth, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Double Square-spot and the Black and Brown Hairstreaks.

Cultivation and uses

The fruit is similar to a small damson or plum, suitable for preserves, but rather tart and astringent for eating, unless deeply frozen, as is practised in eastern Europe. In rural Britain so-called sloe gin is made from them, though this is not a true gin but an infusion of vodka, gin, or neutral spirits with the fruit to produce a liqueur. In Navarre, Spain, a popular liqueur called "patxaran" is made with sloes. Sloes can also be made into jam and, if preserved in vinegar, are similar in taste to Japanese umeboshi.It is extensively planted for hedging and for cover for game birds. The small thorns of the plant are relatively common causes of minor wounds in livestock, and these wounds often fester until the thorn is expelled or removed.

Straight blackthorn stems have traditionally been made into a walking stick or club (known in Ireland as a shillelagh).

The species is locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America.

A "sloe-thorn worm" used as fishing bait is mentioned in the 15th century work, "The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle", by Juliana Berners. [ [http://www.farreaches.org/compendium/treatise/onetreatise.html "The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle"] (attributed to Dame Juliana Berners in the 15th century)]

The expression "sloe-eyed" for a person with dark eyes comes from the fruit, and is first attested in A.J.Wilson's 1867 novel "Vashti". ["Oxford English Dictionary"]

References