Blackthorn and Sloes – Ray Colliers Wildlife in the North

apples-and-sloesIf you stand in front of a blackthorn bush and look at its various features  there is a feeling of mystery and it is almost  eerie.  One of the reasons is that the whole of the shrub  is so dark with very little  colour variation.  In contrast if you stand in  front of a rowan tree it is likely to have great clumps of red berries  weighing its branches down.  Later in the season even the  rowan’s leaves will change to a riot of colour such reds and yellows.  The bramble is another example  of a colour variation as the berries vary from black to almost white and the range of colour of the leaves is quite impressive.   In contrast, the leaves  of the blackthorn are dark green that seem to blend well with the dark stem and twigs.   Even the fruits, called sloes,  are like a very dark plums with, later in the year, a dark bluish bloom that seems to match the tree as it has a very sharp taste.   The dense bushes , right down to ground level, present a very dense thicket that seems to have its own particular defence as it has very sharp thorns.

The blackthorn also features in  myth and folklore, perhaps more than  any other shrub.   The blackthorn is the sister of the hawthorn and they represent the dark and light halves of the year.  Both trees are said to have formed Christ’s crown of thorns and this was the reason Christian monks gave for their unluckiness.  However, blackthorn’s sinister associations have older roots , for it is traditionally the tree of black magic. Its thorns are long, strong, and extremely sharp, proving ideal for piercing the skin.  A simple scratch often leave wounds that turn septic and the thorns,  when tipped with poisons, made a weapon ideal for killing enemies. The myths have it that this was the thorn that pricked Sleeping Beauty’s  finger and she fell into a long deep slumber!   The blackthorn is well known for being the traditional wood of the Irish  to make their cudgels called shillelaghs.  However, there was a more sinister use as   Witches used blackthorn wood as a walking stick, known as the dreaded black rod.  If the witch even pointed it at someone that person would suffer from whatever the witch cursed on them. It was the great herbalist Culpeper in “The Complete Herbal” published in 1653 who described the sloe as “when ripe, of a fine purplish black colour, of a sour austere taste, and not fit to be eaten until mellowed by frost”

In contrast, sloes are very useful for the keen “Food for Free” enthusiast as, apart from anything else, it makes the famous sloe gin.  However, a word of caution as sloe gin is what it means – sloe gin – as the main component is a bottle of gin to start with.  One point to remember is that as with most sloe drinks the fruits need pricking with a darning needle to release the juices.    As you might expect large amounts of sugar are needed and there is the proviso that the bottle should be shaken daily until the sugar  is dissolved and then occasionally shaking  for another two months.   Then strain and bottle but do not be put off as it should then be ready for Christmas!    I looked at the nearest sloe bushes and the crop is very good and the photograph shows the sloes and the “bloom” on them.    I have tried sloe gin, sloe whisky and sloe vodka and the latter is thoroughly  recommended!

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