Blackthorn

Prunus spinosa

Blackthorn is a prickly shrub that grows beautiful white flowers in spring. It produces small, dark fruits called sloes that many animals love to eat!

Hábitat: Woodlands

Aspecto

The Blackthorn is a dense, thorny shrub with dark, almost black bark and small, oval leaves. It boasts a spectacular display of tiny, white five-petaled flowers that emerge profusely on bare branches before its leaves appear in early spring, often giving it a snowy appearance.

ReinoPlantaeFiloTracheophytaClaseMagnoliopsidaOrdenRosalesFamiliaRosaceaeGéneroPrunus

Blackthorn

Categoría

Plantas

Rareza

Common

Peligro

2/5 · Bajo

Snaps

¡Sé la primera persona en hacer un snap!

Datos interesantes

Blackthorn's name comes from its incredibly dark bark and sharp, black-tipped thorns.

Its super-hard wood was traditionally used to make shillelaghs, strong Irish walking sticks!

People have used its tiny, sharp thorns as pins or even for ancient tattooing!

The fruits, called sloes, are incredibly sour until a hard frost sweetens them up!

Habilidades especiales

Blackthorn can bloom incredibly early in spring, giving its white flowers a head start to attract the first sleepy insects.

Blackthorn fruits, called sloes, get sweeter after a hard frost, making them perfect for birds to eat and spread its seeds!

Blackthorn can spread by sending up new shoots from its roots, forming dense, protective thickets where birds can hide.

Medidas y detalles

Altura: 100-500 cm
Extensión: 100-400 cm
Tamaño de la flor: 1-1.5 cm
Temporada de floración: Early spring
Comestible: Sí
Toxicidad: Leve
Ciclo de vida: Perenne
Método de polinización: Insectos

Conexiones ecológicas

eaten by

Brown Hairstreak butterfly

Thecla betulae

larvae feed on its leaves

pollinates

European Honey Bee

Apis mellifera

visits early spring flowers for nectar

shelters

Whitethroat

Sylvia communis

nests securely within its thorny thickets

eaten by

Fieldfare

Turdus pilaris

eats ripe sloes in winter for energy

Rasgos

Caducifolio

Las plantas caducifolias pierden periódicamente todas sus hojas, por lo general durante el otoño o las estaciones secas.

Floración

Las plantas con flores son cualquier planta que produce flores como parte de su ciclo reproductivo.

Arbusto

Un arbusto es una planta leñosa más pequeña que un árbol, típicamente con múltiples tallos que se ramifican desde o cerca del suelo.

Floración primaveral

Las plantas de floración primaveral producen sus flores durante la temporada de primavera, lo que a menudo significa el final del invierno y el comienzo de un nuevo crecimiento.