Blackthorn seeds

Blackthorn or sloe or Prickly Plum / Prunus spinosa - small thorny bush; species of the genus Prunus of the Plum subfamily (Prunoideae) of the Rose family (Rosaceae), a stone fruit crop.

A shrub 3.5-4.5 m high, less often a low-growing tree no higher than 8 m. As it grows, the thorn forms dense, prickly and impenetrable thickets. The branches are abundantly covered with thorns.

The leaves are elliptical or obovate, serrated, up to 5 cm long.

The flowers are small, white, open singly or in pairs in early spring, when there are no leaves yet.

The fruits are round, single-drug fruits, similar to plums, with a bluish waxy coating, 12 mm in diameter.

Honey plant gives bees mainly pollen and a little nectar. Sloe wood is very durable and hard, with a beautiful brown-reddish color. This type of wood lends itself well to polishing. Sloe wood is used in the production of small carpentry and turning products, and canes. Blackthorn is also used as decorative hedges. Blackthorn bushes are specially planted on slopes, in ravines, along the banks of rivers and canals to strengthen them. Serves as an excellent rootstock for bush forms of peach, apricot and plum.