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Prunus spinosa
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<h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p><i>Prunus spinosa</i> is a large <a href="/facts/Deciduous/7jQHVtdd">deciduous</a> <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrub</a> or small <a href="/facts/Tree/3q0G4cbP">tree</a> growing to 5 metres (16 feet) tall, with blackish bark and dense, stiff, spiny branches. The <a href="/facts/Leaves/1m6wCNTg">leaves</a> are oval, 2–4.5 centimetres (3⁄4–1+3⁄4 inches) long and 1.2–2 cm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) broad, with a serrated margin. The <a href="/facts/Flower/7gI5Kefw">flowers</a> are about 1.5 cm (1⁄2 in) in diameter, with five creamy-white petals; they are produced shortly before the leaves in early spring,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> and are <a href="/facts/Hermaphroditic/C4aYIk4n">hermaphroditic</a>, and <a href="/facts/Insect/IgDNvnUL">insect</a>-pollinated. The <a href="/facts/Fruit/PBpuzk60">fruit</a>, called a "sloe", is a <a href="/facts/Drupe/WrnGMPSa">drupe</a> 10–12 millimetres (3⁄8–1⁄2 in) in diameter, black with a purple-blue waxy bloom, ripening in autumn and traditionally harvested – at least in the UK – in October or November, after the first frosts. Sloes are thin-fleshed, with a very strongly <a href="/facts/Astringent/Na9nEIr7">astringent</a> flavour when fresh.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Its fruit <a href="/facts/Persistence_(botany)/TMElBIPz">persists</a> for an average of 36.7 days, and bears an average of 1 seed per fruit.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>Blackthorn usually grows as a bush but can grow to become a tree to a height of 6 m. Its branches usually grow forming a tangle.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p><i>Prunus spinosa</i> is frequently confused with the related <i><a href="/facts/Prunus_cerasifera/wNCy8KC6">P. cerasifera</a></i> (cherry plum), particularly in early spring when the latter starts flowering somewhat earlier than <i>P. spinosa</i>. They can be distinguished by flower colour, pure white in <i>P. spinosa</i>, creamy white in <i>P. cerasifera</i>. In addition, the <a href="/facts/Sepals/rFYnXN4d">sepals</a> are bent backwards in <i>P. cerasifera</i>, but not in <i>P. spinosa</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> They can be distinguished in winter by the shrubbier habit with stiffer, wider-angled branches of <i>P. spinosa</i>; in summer by the relatively narrower leaves of <i>P. spinosa</i>, more than twice as long as broad;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> and in autumn by the colour of the fruit skin purplish black in <i>P. spinosa</i> and yellow or red in <i>P. cerasifera</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a>: 207 </p><p><i>Prunus spinosa</i> has a <a href="/facts/Tetraploid/L7xyKHdK">tetraploid</a> (2<i>n</i>=4<i>x</i>=32) set of chromosomes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>Like many other fruits with <a href="/facts/Endocarp/VDLWzDkf">pits</a>, the pit of the sloe contains trace amounts of <a href="/facts/Hydrogen_cyanide/vNtA0Mxe">hydrogen cyanide</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2> <p>The specific name <i><i>spinosa</i></i> is a Latin term indicating the pointed and thornlike <a href="/facts/Spur_shoot/ML2z0pru">spur shoots</a> characteristic of this species. The common name "<i>blackthorn</i>" is due to the thorny nature of the shrub, and possibly its very dark bark: it has a much darker bark than the white-thorn (<a href="/facts/Common_hawthorn/wFXGSRXG">hawthorn</a>), to which it is contrasted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>The word commonly used for the fruit, "<i>sloe</i>", comes from <a href="/facts/Old_English/9rsmQG2a">Old English</a> <i><i>slāh</i></i>, <a href="/facts/Cognate/nXETf5Y4">cognate</a> with <a href="/facts/Old_High_German/Vr3YC8sW">Old High German</a> <i><i>slēha</i></i>, <i><i>slēwa</i></i>, and Modern <a href="/facts/German_language/oWaQIDA8">German</a> <i><i>Schlehe</i></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> Other cognate forms are Frisian and <a href="/facts/Middle_Low_German/DgYHFD1c">Middle Low German</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> <i><i>slē</i></i>, <a href="/facts/Middle_Dutch/E1h4swn9">Middle Dutch</a> <i><i>slee, slie, sleeu</i></i>; <a href="/facts/Modern_Dutch/yIB5lbsx">Modern Dutch</a> <i><i>slee</i></i>; Modern <a href="/facts/Low_German/BPxhrjlB">Low German</a> <i><i>slee</i></i>/<i><i>slē</i></i>, <i><i>slī</i></i>;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Danish_language/sTcGXTMJ">Danish</a> <i><i>slåen</i></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p><p>The names related to 'sloe' come from the common <a href="/facts/Germanic_languages/BxAJX3Kf">Germanic</a> root <i><i>slaihwō</i></i>. Compare <a href="/facts/Old_Slavic_language/KCEH4cFL">Old Slavic</a>, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Ukrainian and Russian слива (<i>sliva</i>, Ukr. <i>slyva</i>),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> <a href="/facts/West_Slavic_languages/VIc4kPLy">West Slavic</a> / <a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a> <i><i>śliwa</i></i>; plum of any species, including sloe <i><i>śliwa tarnina</i></i>—root present in other <a href="/facts/Slavic_languages/b5GaeFx1">Slavic languages</a>, e.g. <a href="/facts/Bosnian_language/T6magSgv">Bosnian</a>, <a href="/facts/Croatian_language/o2Y8WHuy">Croatian</a>, <a href="/facts/Montenegrin_language/YqwofxJX">Montenegrin</a> and <a href="/facts/Serbian_language/quNDpTCd">Serbian</a> <i><i>šljiva</i></i> / шљива. </p> <h2 id="distribution-and-habitat">Distribution and habitat</h2> <p>The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> It is also locally <a href="/facts/Naturalisation_(biology)/6lc476BI">naturalized</a> in <a href="/facts/Tasmania/q3dubPTt">Tasmania</a> and eastern North America.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="ecology">Ecology</h2> <p>The foliage is sometimes eaten by the <a href="/facts/Larva/GKo2FIew">larvae</a> of <a href="/facts/Lepidoptera/yPFPsQmL">Lepidoptera</a>, including the <a href="/facts/Eriogaster_lanestris/I92mphNr">small eggar moth</a>, <a href="/facts/Pavonia_pavonia/jnRJHNoI">emperor moth</a>, <a href="/facts/Willow_beauty/0tmG37NK">willow beauty</a>, white-pinion spotted, <a href="/facts/Common_emerald/usWFptge">common emerald</a>, <a href="/facts/November_moth/VLbMpjLC">November moth</a>, <a href="/facts/Pale_November_moth/lXtaYWMG">pale November moth</a>, <a href="/facts/Mottled_pug/jqkjM8tD">mottled pug</a>, <a href="/facts/Green_pug/mJG1XIk1">green pug</a>, <a href="/facts/Brimstone_moth/luI8fHoz">brimstone moth</a>, <a href="/facts/Feathered_thorn/Y9btpP5B">feathered thorn</a>, <a href="/facts/Brown-tail/F7SxYb5W">brown-tail</a>, <a href="/facts/Yellow-tail/jRvEnY7G">yellow-tail</a>, <a href="/facts/Short-cloaked_moth/lh902PQv">short-cloaked moth</a>, lesser yellow underwing, <a href="/facts/Lesser_broad-bordered_yellow_underwing/PSuAs3c3">lesser broad-bordered yellow underwing</a>, <a href="/facts/Double_square-spot/167v9kss">double square-spot</a>, <a href="/facts/Black_hairstreak/RX4J1oAA">black hairstreak</a>, <a href="/facts/Brown_hairstreak/ocGV2H96">brown hairstreak</a>, hawthorn moth (<i><a href="/facts/Scythropia_crataegella/oJzzSxI7">Scythropia crataegella</a></i>) and the case-bearer moth <i><a href="/facts/Coleophora_anatipennella/2LJ8E8JU">Coleophora anatipennella</a></i>. Dead blackthorn wood provides food for the caterpillars of the <a href="/facts/Concealer_moth/SzovntaN">concealer moth</a> <i><a href="/facts/Esperia_oliviella/CfGsU06v">Esperia oliviella</a></i>. </p> <h2 id="uses">Uses</h2> <p>The shrub, with its long, sharp thorns, is traditionally used in Britain and other parts of northern Europe to make a cattle-proof <a href="/facts/Hedge/qp0wBkIf">hedge</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p><p>The fruit is similar to a small <a href="/facts/Damson/NTQqr4Nk">damson</a> or <a href="/facts/Plum/w05NWXGc">plum</a>, suitable for preserves, but rather tart and astringent for eating fresh unless it is picked after the first few days of autumn frost. This effect can be reproduced by freezing harvested sloes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> </p><p>Since the plant is hardy, and grows in a wide range of conditions, it is used as a <a href="/facts/Rootstock/pSRT5aW6">rootstock</a> for many other species of plum, as well as some other fruit species. </p> <h3>Flavoring</h3> <p>The juice is used in the manufacture of fake <a href="/facts/Port_wine/dtDKtMAz">port wine</a>, and it was used as an <a href="/facts/Adulterant/fM78Wcvc">adulterant</a> to impart roughness to genuine port, into the 20th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a> In rural Britain a <a href="/facts/Liqueur/wVeQyoK9">liqueur</a>, <a href="/facts/Sloe_gin/tUb5wTm0">sloe gin</a>, is made by infusing <a href="/facts/Gin/h6kcsFID">gin</a> with sloes and sugar; <a href="/facts/Vodka/49G9hEo8">vodka</a> can also be infused with sloes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a> Similarly, in <a href="/facts/Northern_Greece/aPFyM6Xf">Northern Greece</a>, they make a blackthorn liqueur by infusing <a href="/facts/Tsipouro/wsXJzXY6">tsipouro</a> with the fruit and adding sugar. </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Navarre/49tTsw4A">Navarre</a>, Spain, a popular liqueur called <i><i><a href="/facts/Pachar%25C3%25A1n/5dzmVQu3">pacharán</a></i></i> is made with sloes. In France a liqueur called <i>troussepinette</i>, or just <i>épine</i> or <i>épinette</i>, is made from the young shoots in spring (rather than from fruits in autumn). (<i>Vin d'épine</i>, likewise, is an infusion of early shoots of blackthorn <a href="/facts/Macerated/Uhn0FuA9">macerated</a> with sugar in wine.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a>) In <a href="/facts/Italy/tUf0PDYF">Italy</a>, the infusion of spirit with the fruits and sugar produces a liqueur called <i><a href="/facts/Bargnolino/r0qBsr7r">bargnolino</a></i> (sometimes <i>prunella</i>). In France, <i><a href="/facts/Eau_de_vie/y8CM4Dqe">eau de vie</a> de prunelle[s]</i> is distilled from fermented sloes in regions such as the <a href="/facts/Alsace/MSXIp87H">Alsace</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a> Wine made from <a href="/facts/Alcoholic_fermentation/lpY5qenQ">fermented</a> sloes is made in Britain, and in <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a> and other central European countries. It is also sometimes used in the brewing of <a href="/facts/Lambic/IV4AT0AL">lambic</a> beer in <a href="/facts/Belgium/YKuMXP5j">Belgium</a>. </p> <h3>Culinary</h3> <p>Sloes can also be made into <a href="/facts/Fruit_preserves/TSkwzfzF">jam</a>, <a href="/facts/Chutney/n4QpqN4b">chutney</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a> and used in fruit pies. Sloes preserved in <a href="/facts/Vinegar/yC27CDkw">vinegar</a> are similar in taste to <a href="/facts/Japanese_cuisine/xIM9GWR6">Japanese</a> <i><a href="/facts/Umeboshi/8gMHazKM">umeboshi</a></i>. The juice of the fruits dyes linen a reddish colour that washes out to a durable pale blue.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a> </p><p>The leaves resemble tea leaves, and were used as an adulterant of tea.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34"><sup>34</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35"><sup>35</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Endocarp/VDLWzDkf">fruit stones</a> have been found in Swiss lake dwellings.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36"><sup>36</sup></a> Early human use of sloes as food is evidenced in the case of a 5,300-year-old human <a href="/facts/Mummy/nDaeqf5N">mummy</a> (nick-named <a href="/facts/%25C3%2596tzi/ow4P4rQo">Ötzi</a>), discovered in the <a href="/facts/%25C3%2596tztal_Alps/JCCWWUKE">Ötztal Alps</a> along the Austrian-Italian border in 1991: a sloe was found near the remains; evidently the man intended to eat it before he died.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37"><sup>37</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38"><sup>38</sup></a> </p> <h3>Wood</h3> <p>Blackthorn makes an excellent <a href="/facts/Fire_wood/1ohqWUEH">fire wood</a> that burns slowly with a good heat and little smoke.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39"><sup>39</sup></a> The wood takes a fine polish and is used for tool handles and canes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40"><sup>40</sup></a> Straight blackthorn stems have traditionally been made into <a href="/facts/Walking_stick/q2huz1Mu">walking sticks</a> or <a href="/facts/Club_(weapon)/DRU9yL8M">clubs</a> (known in <a href="/facts/Ireland/35vYxXdP">Ireland</a> as a <a href="/facts/Shillelagh_(club)/xJ0mSW1p">shillelagh</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41"><sup>41</sup></a> In the British Army, blackthorn sticks are carried by commissioned officers of the <a href="/facts/Royal_Irish_Regiment_(1992)/IQysuUJe">Royal Irish Regiment</a>; this is a tradition also in Irish regiments in some <a href="/facts/Commonwealth_of_Nations/TcIRQnNq">Commonwealth</a> countries. </p> <h3>Inks</h3> <p><a href="/facts/Rashi/yRPFhQvc">Rashi</a>, a <a href="/facts/Talmudist/8416nnBV">Talmudist</a> and <a href="/facts/Tanakh/04qRIX0c">Tanakh</a> commentator of the <a href="/facts/High_Middle_Ages/uPRGYdE6">High Middle Ages</a>, writes that the sap (or <a href="/facts/Gum_(botany)/ooJBwshl">gum</a>) of <i>P. spinosa</i> (which he refers to as the <i>prunellier</i>) was used as an ingredient in the making of some <a href="/facts/Iron_gall_ink/sgoK2jKM">inks used for manuscripts</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42"><sup>42</sup></a> </p><p>A "sloe-thorn worm" used as <a href="/facts/Fishing_bait/u82Xyvhh">fishing bait</a> is mentioned in the 15th-century work, <i>The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43"><sup>43</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="in-culture">In culture</h2> <p>In <a href="/facts/Middle_English/dj1wHvwd">Middle English</a>, <i>slō</i> has been used to denote something of trifling value.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44"><sup>44</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45"><sup>45</sup></a> </p><p>The expression <i>sloe-black eyes</i> for a person with dark eyes comes from the fruit, and is first attested<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46"><sup>46</sup></a> in <a href="/facts/William_Somervile/q4FFvW7U">William Somervile's</a> 1735 poem <i>The Chace</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47"><sup>47</sup></a> "<i>Sloe-eyed</i>," meanwhile, is first attested in <a href="/facts/Augusta_Jane_Evans/Ig7kxvyW">A. J. Wilson</a>'s 1867 novel <i>Vashti</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48"><sup>48</sup></a> </p><p>The flowering of the blackthorn may have been associated with the ancient Celtic celebration of <a href="/facts/Imbolc/IVASABBh">Imbolc</a>, traditionally celebrated on February 1 in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49"><sup>49</sup></a> </p><p>The name of the dark-coloured cloth <a href="/facts/Prunella_(cloth)/hwaWhwfS">prunella</a> was derived from the French word <i>prunelle</i>, meaning sloe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50"><sup>50</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h3>Bibliography</h3> <ul><li>Coats, Alice M. (1992) [1964]. "Prunus". <i>Garden Shrubs and Their Histories</i>. New York, NY: <a href="/facts/Simon_%2526_Schuster/pESq8Dxl">Simon & Schuster</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-671-74733-9.</li> <li>Ehrlén, Johan; Eriksson, Ove (1991). "Phenological variation in fruit characteristics in vertebrate-dispersed plants". <i>Oecologia</i>. 86 (4): 463–470. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00318311">10.1007/BF00318311</a>. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0029-8549">0029-8549</a>.</li> <li>Rushforth, K. (1999). <i>Trees of Britain and Europe</i>. <a href="/facts/HarperCollins/HHLz5lk5">Collins</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-00-220013-9. </li> <li>Weinberger, J.H. (1975). "Plums". In Janick, J.; Moore, J.N. (eds.). <i>Advances in Fruit Breeding</i>. West Lafayette, IN: <a href="/facts/Purdue_University_Press/pzIjKuXv">Purdue University Press</a>. pp. 336–347. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-911198-36-9.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li> Media related to Prunus spinosa at Wikimedia Commons</li> <li><a href="https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Prunus+spinosa">"Prunus spinosa"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/Plants_for_a_Future/SfIWAPrk">Plants for a Future</a></i>.</li> <li><a href="http://www.cookipedia.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Sloe">"Sloe recipes"</a>. <i>Cookipedia</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Clapham, A.C.; Tutin, T.G.; Warburg, E.F. (1968). Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-04656-4. <a href="0-521-04656-4" target="_blank">0-521-04656-4</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Rushforth 1999[page needed] - Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins. ISBN 0-00-220013-9. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Ehrlén & Eriksson 1991. - Ehrlén, Johan; Eriksson, Ove (1991). "Phenological variation in fruit characteristics in vertebrate-dispersed plants". Oecologia. 86 (4): 463–470. doi:10.1007/BF00318311. ISSN 0029-8549. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00318311" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00318311</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Kilbracken, J. (1995). Larousse Easy Way Guide to Trees. Larousse. ISBN 0-7523-0027X. <a href="0-7523-0027X" target="_blank">0-7523-0027X</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Prunus spinosa – Sloe, Blackthorn". PFAF Plant Database. <a href="https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Prunus+spinosa" target="_blank">https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Prunus+spinosa</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Blackthorn flowers". Tree Guide UK. Retrieved 9 February 2022. <a href="https://www.treeguideuk.co.uk/blackthorn-flowers/" target="_blank">https://www.treeguideuk.co.uk/blackthorn-flowers/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Rushforth 1999[page needed] - Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins. ISBN 0-00-220013-9. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Vedel, H.; Lange, J. (1960). "Prunus spinosa". Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow. London, UK: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-30160-5. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) [page needed] <a href="0-413-30160-5" target="_blank">0-413-30160-5</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Stace, C.A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (4th ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C. & M. Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2. <a href="978-1-5272-2630-2" target="_blank">978-1-5272-2630-2</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Weinberger 1975, pp. 336–347. - Weinberger, J.H. (1975). "Plums". In Janick, J.; Moore, J.N. (eds.). Advances in Fruit Breeding. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press. pp. 336–347. ISBN 0-911198-36-9. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Schlehen entkernen – ein Ding der Unmöglichkeit?" [Pitting sloes: An impossible thing?]. Garten Journal (in German). 12 November 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2021. <a href="https://www.gartenjournal.net/schlehen-entkernen" target="_blank">https://www.gartenjournal.net/schlehen-entkernen</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Johns, Charles Alexander (1882). "The Blackthorn". The Forest Trees of Britain. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. pp. 103–112, esp. 105 – via Google Books. <a href="/wiki/Charles_Alexander_Johns" target="_blank">/wiki/Charles_Alexander_Johns</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Whitney, William Dwight; Smith, Benjamin Eli, eds. (1906). "sloe". The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Vol. 7 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Historically spoken in Lower Saxony <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Whitney, William Dwight; Smith, Benjamin Eli, eds. (1906). "sloe". The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Vol. 7 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"sloe". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1933. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" target="_blank">/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Whitney, William Dwight; Smith, Benjamin Eli, eds. (1906). "sloe". The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Vol. 7 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"sloe". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1933. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" target="_blank">/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Whitney, William Dwight; Smith, Benjamin Eli, eds. (1906). "sloe". The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Vol. 7 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=D35EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5701</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"Prunus spinosa L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 21 March 2023. <a href="https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:730297-1" target="_blank">https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:730297-1</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Rushforth 1999[page needed] - Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins. ISBN 0-00-220013-9. <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"Prunus spinosa L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 21 March 2023. <a href="https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:730297-1" target="_blank">https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:730297-1</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>Coats 1992, Prunus. - Coats, Alice M. (1992) [1964]. "Prunus". Garden Shrubs and Their Histories. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-74733-9. <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>Brown, Lynda (July 1994). "Damson time". House & Garden. Vol. 166. pp. 140–142, esp. 142 – via Google Books. In former times people waited to pick the sloes until the first frost which makes the skins more permeable ... [A proprietor] which makes one of the best sloe gins, recommends freezing the fruit first. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8BlJAAAAYAAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=8BlJAAAAYAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Sloe" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. <a href="/wiki/Daniel_Coit_Gilman" target="_blank">/wiki/Daniel_Coit_Gilman</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:26"><p>Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Sloe" . Encyclopedia Americana. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Sloe" target="_blank">https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Sloe</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:27"><p>White, Florence (1952). Good English Food, Local and Regional. p. 52 – via Google Books. It appears that the cheaper kinds of so-called port consumed in this country are largely adulterated with sloe-juice. <a href="/wiki/Florence_White_(writer)" target="_blank">/wiki/Florence_White_(writer)</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:28"><p>Kerri (10 Oct 2010). "Sloe gin and sloe chutney". Dinner Diary. Retrieved 31 August 2017. <a href="http://dinnerdiary.org/2010/10/10/sloe-gin-and-sloe-chutney/" target="_blank">http://dinnerdiary.org/2010/10/10/sloe-gin-and-sloe-chutney/</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:29"><p>Pasty, Gilbert (1999). Glossaire des dialectes marchois et haut limousin de la Creuse. G. Pasty. p. 155. ISBN 978-2-9513615-0-8 – via Google Books. <a href="978-2-9513615-0-8" target="_blank">978-2-9513615-0-8</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:30"><p>Seaton, Jessica (2017). Gather Cook Feast: Recipes from land and water by the co-founder of Toast. Penguin UK. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-241-29885-5 – via Google Books. <a href="978-0-241-29885-5" target="_blank">978-0-241-29885-5</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:31"><p>In fiction eau de vie de prunelle is often partaken by Detective Maigret.[25][26] <a href="/wiki/Jules_Maigret" target="_blank">/wiki/Jules_Maigret</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:32"><p>Kerri (10 Oct 2010). "Sloe gin and sloe chutney". Dinner Diary. Retrieved 31 August 2017. <a href="http://dinnerdiary.org/2010/10/10/sloe-gin-and-sloe-chutney/" target="_blank">http://dinnerdiary.org/2010/10/10/sloe-gin-and-sloe-chutney/</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:33"><p>Coats 1992, Prunus. - Coats, Alice M. (1992) [1964]. "Prunus". Garden Shrubs and Their Histories. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-74733-9. <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:34"><p>Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Sloe" . Encyclopedia Americana. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Sloe" target="_blank">https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Sloe</a> <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:35"><p>Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). "Sloe" . The New Student's Reference Work . Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_Student%27s_Reference_Work/Sloe" target="_blank">https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_Student%27s_Reference_Work/Sloe</a> <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:36"><p>Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Sloe" . Encyclopedia Americana. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Sloe" target="_blank">https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Sloe</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:37"><p>Ghose, Tia (8 November 2012). "Mummy melodrama: Top 9 secrets about Ötzi the Iceman". LiveScience. Retrieved 10 November 2012. (to locate, click ahead to part 7) <a href="http://www.livescience.com/24666-otzi-iceman-mummy-life-death.html" target="_blank">http://www.livescience.com/24666-otzi-iceman-mummy-life-death.html</a> <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:38"><p>"Ötzi the Iceman". The Copper Age. Museo Archeologico dell'Alto Adige. 2016. Retrieved 2019-07-19. <a href="http://www.iceman.it/en/the-copper-age/" target="_blank">http://www.iceman.it/en/the-copper-age/</a> <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:39"><p>The Burning Properties of Wood (PDF) (Report). The Scout Association. 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-12-23. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121223202805/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs315001.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20121223202805/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs315001.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:39" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:40"><p>Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). "Sloe" . The New Student's Reference Work . Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_Student%27s_Reference_Work/Sloe" target="_blank">https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_Student%27s_Reference_Work/Sloe</a> <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:41"><p>Chouinard, Maxime (2007). The stick is king: The Shillelagh Bata or the rediscovery of a living Irish martial tradition (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2022. <a href="http://www.cimande.com/blackthorn/pdf/stick_edited.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.cimande.com/blackthorn/pdf/stick_edited.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:42"><p>Talmud Bavli, Tractate Shabbat 23a <a href="/wiki/Talmud" target="_blank">/wiki/Talmud</a> <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:43"><p>Berners, Dame Juliana (attributed to) (3 August 2006) [c. 1420]. The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle. Waking Lion Press. ISBN 978-1-60096-446-6. <a href="978-1-60096-446-6" target="_blank">978-1-60096-446-6</a> <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:44"><p>Lewis, Robert E., ed. (1988). "slō". Middle English Dictionary. University of Michigan Press. p. 1063. ISBN 0-472-01198-7 – via Google Books. <a href="0-472-01198-7" target="_blank">0-472-01198-7</a> <a href="#fnref:44" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:45"><p>"sloe". Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1933. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" target="_blank">/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary</a> <a href="#fnref:45" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:46"><p>James A. H. Murray (1919). A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by the Philological Society. Kragen Javier Sitaker. Clarendon Press at Oxford. <a href="https://archive.org/details/oed9aarch/oed9aarch/page/n237/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/oed9aarch/oed9aarch/page/n237/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:47"><p>William Somerville (1675-1742) (1735). The chase; 1735.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) <a href="https://archive.org/details/the-chase-1735/page/14/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/the-chase-1735/page/14/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:47" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:48"><p>"sloe-eyed". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) <a href="https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=sloe-eyed" target="_blank">https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=sloe-eyed</a> <a href="#fnref:48" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:49"><p>Aveni, Anthony F. (2004). The Book of the Year: A brief history of our seasonal holidays. Oxford University Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-19-517154-3. <a href="0-19-517154-3" target="_blank">0-19-517154-3</a> <a href="#fnref:49" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:50"><p>"prunella". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2021-05-22 – via merriam-webster.com. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prunella" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prunella</a> <a href="#fnref:50" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>