Sloe-blackthorm
Prunus spinosa
Rosaceae
Edible Uses
Flower
<p>The infusion prepared of dried sloe-blackthorn flower can also be consumed for the taste.</p>
Fruit
<p>The fruit can be used in many ways. The dried fruits can be cooked for 10 minutes to prepare a brightly colored, energizing tea. Tea or tea mixture can also be prepared of fresh berries, these are even more energizing. Fruit jam, syrup or liqueur can also be made of them. Steeping the dried berries into salty water for a week results an olive-like food.</p>
Medicinal Uses
Flower
<p>Infusion prepared from the dried flower has a mildly laxative effect and it is also slightly diaphoretic. It can also be used by children.</p>
Fruit
<p>Sloe-blackthorn fruit, both raw and cooked as a jelly has a mild anti-diarrheal effect.</p>
Main Characteristics
He is a 1 - 3 m tall deciduous shrub. His branches are rigid, furcated, covered with spines standing off the branches at right angles. The bark is even, brown, often covered with lichen. The foliage is alternate. Individual leaves are elliptic-ovate with a serrated leaf margin. Flowers are white, 5-petaled, they appear before leafing. The cherry-sized fruit is dark purple, tart, round and covered with a waxy layer. It is not freestone.
Habitats
Shrub forest
Harvesting aid
Flower
April, March
<p>The flower petals are gathered in the middle of the flowering period, ideally when half the flowers are open. Carefully remove the petals, so that it can ripe to fruit in autumn. Collect only the healthy and fresh petals that do not fall off from a breeze. Older petals turn brown during the drying, and these are worthless. Spread them out in a thin layer. Dry in a warm, shady and dry place, without rotation, to avoid mechanical impact.</p>
Fruit
December, November, October
<p>The fruits get ripe after the first frosts, as they loose the astringent taste. The fruits at that stage are slightly wrinkled, and they taste sweet and slightly tart. You do not have to wait until the first frosts, because our competitors, the birds may eat them before us. If gathered before the frosts, fruits need to be placed in the freezer for a week, ensuring a fully ripening.</p>
Confusion with other plants
Prunus cerasifera
Cherry plum
These two plants can be confused during the flowering period, however, blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is often smaller than the cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) and sloe-blackthorn is clearly distinguishable from its large spines.
Description
Size: 1 m - 3 m
Bloom time: April,
March,
Flower
Inflorescence type: Solitary
Flower Colour: White 
Flower shape: 5 petaled
Stem
Trunk pattern: Covered with spines or prickles
Trunk Colour: Brown
Leaf
Foliage type: Alternate 
Leaf shape: Ovate
Leaf margin: Serrate
Fruit
Fruit Category: Fruit
Fruit type: Drupe