WINTER TREES 4: BLACKTHORN

2nd January was sunny here.  Blackthorn twigs against a blue sky look very prickly.  The side shoots with the thorns at the end stick out more or less at right angles, with flower buds waiting to hatch.

In March blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)is covered in white blossom on bare twigs before the leaves come out - an excellent early supply of pollen and nectar for insects.  It is easy to confuse blackthorn with all the various wild plums, myrobalan, cherry plum, bullace etc (Prunus cerasifera) but these blossom two to four weeks earlier, the leaves coming out with the flowers, on green twigs.

Blackthorn is best known for its very tart fruits, the sloes - see my post of 28th September 2022.  But what I remember most about it are the thorns.  It's habit of suckering and spreading into a thicket, ideal for small birds to nest in, makes it an excellent plant for hedges.   BUT when you come to trim or lay a blackthorn hedge the thorns will penetrate the toughest of gloves.

As well as sheltering birds, the leaves are essential food for the caterpillars of two of our threatened butterfly species, the black and the brown hairstreaks, and over 200 other invertebrates feed on the leaves, so I will forgive its prickly nature.

Blackthorn wood is excellent firewood.  Although it is usually a shrubby bush, it can grow into a tree about 5m tall with black bark - hence the name.  Its black bark looks well on walking sticks, Irish shillelaghs and magic wands.