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The 'Blackthorn' is a large shrub or a small tree of the genus ''Prunus'', botanic name ''Prunus spinosa''.
The blackthorn is native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. The common name is derived from its dark bark and skin, and from the thorns or spines that it bears. It is covered in white flowers in early spring, and is often the first flowering tree in the countryside in its native regions. It bears a dark purple fruit called the sloe (or in the Scots language, 'slaes').
The fruit is similar to a small damson or plum, suitable for preserves, but rather tart for eating (unless deeply frozen, as it is practiced in Eastern Europe); in rural Britain so-called sloe ginOnline Etymology Dictionary is made from them, though this is not a true gin but a liqueur. In Navarra, Spain, patxaran is a popular liqueur made with sloes. Sloes can also be made into jams and, if preserved in vinegar, are similar in taste to Japanese umeboshi.
The blackthorn is extensively planted for hedging and for cover for game birds. Some forms are grown for ornament and flower. The small thorns of the plant are relatively common causes of minor wounds in livestock, and these wounds often suppurate until the thorn is expelled or removed.
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.
An insect (perhaps one of the above) is referred to as the "sloe-worm", found on the leaves of the sloe-tree, that often changes its skin and assumes different colors, and changes into a four-winged fly.^[1] A "sloe-thorn worm" is also mentioned in the 15th century work, ''The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle'', by Juliana Berners.^[2]

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Trivia

References

Trivia

★ 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''.^[3]

★ In Ireland, a straight blackthorn stem has traditionally been made into walking sticks, or club-like weapons named shillelaghs.

References

1. ''Webster's 1828 Dictionary''
2. ''The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle'' (attributed to Dame Juliana Berners in the 15th century)
3. ''Oxford English Dictionary''