Blackthorn

Prunus spinosa , the blackthorn, ^[1] is avery tangled and thorny deciduous shrubup to 4 meters tall. Its natural distribution corresponds to Central and Southern Europe, excluding the westernmost and southernmost regions of the Iberian Peninsula, western Asia (Turkey and Iran) and northern Algeria and Tunisia. Be careful not to confuse it (sometimes it is difficult to distinguish it) with Prunus insititia orwild plum .

It usually forms large thickets thanks to its easy and dense reproduction by shoots sprouting from its roots . Its branches are divergent, dark brown, more or less hairy in its youth and frequently topped with a thorn; the old stems, on the other hand, have gray bark. Its thorny branches bear small leaves oval and pecioladas alternate implementation. The flowers are white and pentámeras. Its opening takes place before the appearance of the first leaves. During the winter it loses the leaves and in spring , before the new foliage sprouts, the flowers appear.

Summary

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• 1 Synonyms
• 2 Vernacular names
• 3 Fruit
• 4 Uses of sloe
• 5 Notes
• 6 References

Synonyms

• Druparia spinosa(L.) Clairv.
• Prunus acacia Crantz
• Prunus amygdaliformis Pau
• Prunus amygdaloidesPau ex Zapater
• Prunus communisspinosa (L.) Syme in Sm.
• Prunus communisspinosa (L.) Hook. & Arn. in Hook.
• Prunus insititiaspinosa (L.) Weston
• Prunus praecox 
• Prunus spinosainsititioides ( Ficalho & Cout. ) Franco
• Prunus spinosaamygdaliformis (Pau) Willk.
• Prunus spinosaBalearic Willk.
• Prunus spinosadasyphylla Schur
• Prunus spinosagenuine Ficalho & Cout.
• Prunus spinosainermis P.Palau
• Prunus spinosaFicalho & Cout insititioides .
• Prunus spinosaD.Gut longifolia .
• Prunus spinosapubescens Ficalho & Cout.
• Prunus spinosaCout subcinerea . ^[two]

Vernacular names

• Spanish: ablunos, abranal, abreculos, abrueño, abrunal (2), abruneiro, abruno (2), abruno bravo, abrunos, abruñal, abruñeiro, abruñero, abruño (Montes), abruñu, acacia bastarda, acacia de ciruetas montesinas , wild acacia, agavanza, amargaleja (2), amargalejo (4), ameijana, amenjana, amenjina, amenxaneira, andrina (9), andrina bravía, andrinal (4), andrinas (2), andriniega, andriniegu, andrinillo de monte ( 2), andrino (13), andrino bravío, andrino montesino, andrinu, androla, andrín (2), apruno, arangonero, aranón, arañonero (5), arañones (4), arañón (14), black arañón, arracaculos, arto , arto arañonero, arto negro (2), arán (3), asarero, briñón (4), brueño, brunal (2), brunera, bruno (4), bruno bravo, bruno escambrión, bruno montesino (2), bruñal ( 2), bruñedo, bruñera (3), bruñero, bruño (13), bruño montesino, bruños, cambrón,carrascos, rattlesnake, cernaculo, cerraculo, chilindrina, chilindrino, chinchón, cinorrodon, ciroletas, cirolilla, cat cirolillas, cirolillo (3), ciruela montesina, ciruelica sloe, ciruelillo loco, plum, bitter plum (3), edge plum (8), wild plum, wild plum, bird plum, blackthorn plum (7), wild plum (5), wild plum, wild plum (11), greater wild plum, wild plum than bears the bruños, ehpino, embruno, sloe (16), sloes (3), sloe (5), sloe, sloe (63), sloe brunero, sloe wild, sloe wild, sloes, escambrones, escaramujo, escayu, blackthorn, espinero, espinillo, espinillo bruño, hawthorn (10), hawthorn andrinero (2), hawthorn, binding hawthorn,hawthorn, blackthorn, blackthorn, cat hawthorn, blackthorn (5), blackthorn, blackthorn (21), peronal hawthorn, prunal hawthorn, garañones, grumo, grunal, gruñera, gruño (3), gruñolera (3 ) grumpy, grumpy, indrina, ispinu, andrinas ispinu, lendrina, lendrinas, maj

uelicos edges, cashew (8), meijanal, mijuelu, mijuetu, negral, pacharán, peruno, priñonera, priñonero, priñoné, pruna, prunal (4), prunillo, pruno (5), prunu, pumas de gato, pumica de gato, cat pumicas, ragaña, scolding, scolding, wild rose, tapaculo, bramble wolf, bramble. The figures in parentheses indicate the frequency of the word in Spain ^[2]

Fruit

The fruit of the blackthorn is known as sloe (or arañón in areas of Aragon , Burgos , Navarra and Basque Country ). It is a drupe the size of a small grape grain about 5 to 10 mm in diameter when the fruit is ripe, and oval in shape. Color can be bluish, purplish, or blackish. It has a velvety texture and a bittersweet flavor . It is a highly prized fruit for making pacharán . ^{[note 1]}

They are low-calorie fruits due to their low proportion of carbohydrates . In general, berries are a good source of fiber, which improves intestinal transit. They are also a good source of potassium , iron and calcium (the latter two being less well used than those derived from food of animal origin), tannins ^{[note 2]} with astringent action and various organic acids . However, what really characterizes these fruits is their abundance of natural pigments ( anthocyanins and carotenoids ) with antioxidant action.

The sloe is a variety of sloe, larger than these (but smaller than walnuts) and not a shrub, but a short tree.

Uses of sloe

It has been used, since ancient times, as a medicinal and food plant . Sloes are used in the production of jams and jellies , as well as for the preparation of pacharán . It has also been used to flavor other liqueurs.

The herbal tea flowers have been used as laxatives . The fruits, however, have astringent properties. With the fruits you can prepare masks with cosmetic effects. Its wood is used in turning and to make canes.

Varieties of excellent quality have been obtained from the industrial point of view and of good agronomic behavior. It should be noted that blackthorn is sexually self-incompatible, so the presence of more than one variety in each plantation is necessary , so that pollination and subsequent fertilization can take place .