Blackthorn Tree Ireland

November 08, 2024 Post a Comment

Blackthorn tree ireland

Special features: The blackthorn is very common in hedges in rural Ireland. Trees and shrubs, leaves are simple with stipules. Flowers have 5 sepals and 5 petals. It flowers before its leaves appear, and its fruit is a drupe called a sloe.

What is blackthorn in Irish?

Answer. Blackthorn in Irish is Droigneáin.

How do you identify a blackthorn tree?

Bark and thorns

Blackthorn is named after its dark bark. The twigs are black with leaf buds along the sharp spines.
Hawthorn's lighter bark is creamy brown in colour and rougher, with knots and fissures. Twigs are slender, brown and covered in thorns which emerge from the same point as the buds.

What does a blackthorn tree symbolize?

Blackthorn has perhaps the most sinister reputation in Celtic tree lore, being variously associated with bad luck and witchcraft.

What is the difference between sloe and blackthorn?

Blackthorn blossoms before its leaves appear. Hawthorn flowers, meanwhile, only appear after the shrub has foliage. Therefore, if you see a bare shrub with white flowers, you know it is a sloe!

Can you eat the fruit of a blackthorn tree?

It is too astringent and bitter to eat raw. Cooked, the fruit is used to make jams, jellies, syrups, ketchups and chutneys. The flowers are also edible in moderation and have a mild almond flavour Hazards The leaves and seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides and hydrogen cyanide.

Is blackthorn a fairy tree?

In Irish folklore, the Blackthorn is considered a special tree and is often referred to as the fairy tree.

What do the Irish call the Fae?

The Tuatha de Danann used their innate magic to become the Sidhe (pronounced Shee) – today known as the “fairies”, “little people” or the “wee folk”.

Are blackthorn thorns poisonous?

It isn't all good news with blackthorn, though. If you prick your finger on one of the tree's enormous thorns you can get 'blackthorn poisoning', which causes infection, swelling and joint pain.

When should I cut back blackthorn?

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) hedge trimming should be done when the plant is dormant in the winter months, but not when it's freezing. Blackthorn can be left to its own devices if a more natural hedgerow look is wanted, however it can be trimmed back to keep it to a desired height and spread.

Do all blackthorn have thorns?

Size: Shrub or small deciduous tree, up to 4m, twigs usually (but not always) very thorny. Flowers: 5 white petals, with yellow or white anthers.

What does blackthorn look like in winter?

Wintry weather in the spring is known as "blackthorn winter" - an old phrase to describe colder spring air - originating in rural England where the confusingly-named white blackthorn blossom blooms in the hedgerows and mimics the springtime snow or frosts in the adjoining fields.

What tree is associated with witches?

Blackthorn was associated with witchcraft. It is said that witches' wands and staffs were made using blackthorn wood. Blackthorn has long been considered a magical tree. In Celtic mythology, it was considered to be a home to fairies.

Is blackthorn invasive?

If your Blackthorn becomes invasive you may want to prune it. Don't cut back after its blooming time as you won't get any fruit. Wait for Autumn to cut it back and remove suckers that sprout from the base.

Is blackthorn poisonous to animals?

Neither are toxic for dogs although if they ate too many it could cause temporary diarrhoea. The real danger with Blackthorn is the very nasty thorns that protect the plant and so it is sensible to keep your pet away from these as they can give a very nasty injury.

What is the edible fruit of the blackthorn called?

Blackthorn is a deciduous shrub or small tree in the rose family. It has dark-coloured bark and stiff, spiny branches, and grows a mass of small, creamy white flowers in the spring, which are replaced by an edible purple-black fruit called a sloe in the autumn.

Can you eat sloes raw?

Sloes are in the same family as plums and cherries so if you're brave you can eat them raw, though they are incredibly sharp and will dry your mouth out before you even finish your first one.

Which comes first hawthorn or blackthorn?

Hawthorn blossom emerges later than Blackthorn, often in late April or May. This time of year gives us a good way to tell hawthorn and blackthorn apart. The leaves of hawthorn emerge before the flowers, whereas with blackthorn this order is reversed. The leaves are small with 3-6 deep lobes.

What are blackthorn berries good for?

Blackthorn is a shrub. The berry and dried flower are used as medicine. People use blackthorn for the common cold, cough, fatigue, constipation, and other conditions , but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. In foods, blackthorn is used in herbal teas, syrups, wines, and liqueurs.

What can you do with blackthorn berries?

Blackthorn berries can be cooked into jams, jellies, and compotes, served plain on bread or used in pastries, or they can be made into sauces and served over cooked meats. In Europe, the berries are sometimes used as an ingredient in tkemali, which is a sweet-tart sauce utilized as a condiment.