Blackthorn

Description

The dense, spreading, much-branched thorny shrub, which can reach a height of up to 3 m (9 feet), flowers from March to April. The small white scented flowers appear before the leaves. They are usually solitary, on short stems, but cover the entire length of the branches so densely that the whole shrub is shrouded in white. In May, after the flowers, the oval, tooth-edged leaves appear, and in late summer the bluish-black plum-like fruits which have a whitish bloom and astringent green flesh. They are 1 cm in diameter, contain a stone and are only edible after the frost. The thorns, incidentally, are transformed lateral branchlets.

Blackthorn likes sunny hills and dry, sparse deciduous woods with chalky, deep soil. Together with other members of the rose family it often forms impenetrable thorny thickets. The light-loving blackthorn is extremely resistant to pests and regenerates quickly after cutting. It can colonize shallow soil quickly and spreads through seed dispersal by mammals and birds and by production of root suckers. Even on wind-exposed sites it defies the natural forces. So it is not surprising that it was used as pioneer wood for stabilizing embankments and dry slopes and for landscaping slag heaps and wasteland, as well as for wind and snow screens. With its high value as honey plant, too, blackthorn emerges as something of an ideal shrub. In spite of its fertility, blackthorn has largely disappeared from the agricultural landscape as a result of modern farming methods which made small fields impractical. Only recent ecological research has demonstrated the utility of hedgerows for agriculture and shown that their protection is worthwhile.

Habitat

Blackthorn was originally a native of central Europe. Thanks to its hardiness it has become widespread and is now found from southern Sweden to the Urals, and in the moderate zones of Southwest Asia, North Africa and North America.

Constituents

Flavonoid glycosides, coumarin derivatives, tannins and bitter substances, acids, vitamin C, traces of amygdalin (cyanogenic glycoside)

Uses

Medicinally blackthorn has astringent, mildly diuretic and laxative and anti-inflammatory action. An infusion made from the dried flowers is used for blood cleansing in skin diseases and rheumatic complaints and as a gargle for mild inflammation of the mouth and throat. A compote or jam made from the berries combats poor appetite. In folk medicine there are some fantastic sounding customs: in the Tyrol a sloe is tied to the left side of the chest as a remedy against jaundice. In many regions there is a custom of eating three flower stalks of the blackthorn bush three times in succession. This is said to provide protection against fever and gout.

Interesting facts

Anyone who tries to get through a blackthorn hedge will realize where the Latin name "spinosa" (= thorny) comes from. The alternative common name, sloe, is of Germanic origin (old high German "slêha") and is probably related to the old Bulgarian "sliva" and the Latin "lividus" = bluish. The name sloe would therefore refer to the blue fruits. The name blackthorn, on the other hand, refers to the black bark of older blackthorn trees.

The ancient Teutons already knew about the protective action of the blackthorn: together with hawthorn it was used for the first garden hedges which protected apple trees and herbs from game-damage. Incidentally, the Indogermanic word "gher" (= to catch) developed into the word "ghortos" which means literally "fenced in, enclosed". It was thus the fence that gave the garden its name, the woven fence or the protecting hedge enclosing a piece of land along the wall of a house.

In some places blackthorn is believed to ward off spells and have prophesying powers. In the night of St. Ottilie it was customary to burn blackthorn branches as incense and on Walpurgis night blackthorn was burnt together with juniper and rue to ward off evil spirits.

There are two German farmers' sayings connected with blackthorn blossom:

"Ist die Schlehe weiß wie Schnee,
ist's Zeit, daß man die Gerste säe."

(When blackthorn blossoms snowy white
For sowing barley the time is right)

"Je zeitiger im April die Schlehe blüht,
umso früher vor Jakobi die Ernte glüht."

(The earlier the blackthorn flowers appear
The earlier the farmers will harvest this year)

Blackthorn provides a richly decked table for numerous animals: the lush flowers are welcomed by early flying insects, for example many wild bees (sand bees, cuckoo bees and others), bumble bees, beetles and flies. The leaves, which appear later, are particularly popular amongst caterpillars, for example those of the Scarce Swallowtail, the Brown and Black Hair Streak, the endangered Small Emperor Moth and especially those of the sociable Ermine Moths which build silky tents in the branches and are sometimes so numerous that whole blackthorn populations are stripped bare. The birds that nest in the blackthorn, such as the Red-backed Shrike and the Yellowhammer, find a veritable land of milk and honey there. For birds and mice which depend on berries in winter the spiny shrub is an indispensable larder and guarantee of survival.

Blackthorn was important for humans in very early times. Archeologists have found fruit stones at the sites of Neolithic pile villages. The Arabs, Greeks and Romans and people in the Middle Ages used the flowers and fruits as medicines and food. Asclepiades and Andromachus, for example, praised a thickened fruit juice from sloes as an effective remedy for dysentery. The tough wood of the undemanding blackthorn was also formerly used in agriculture. The bark provided blackthorn ink, the fruits a red and the bark a brownish dye for wool and linen.

Today the fruits of the blackthorn are still used to brew warming drinks for harsh winter evenings: sloe wine and sloe gin make you feel cozy indoors while the snow rages outside. But syrups, jellies and jams are also a vitamin-rich delicacy.

Use in Skin Care and Remedies

Early in the spring, even before the young shoots and leaves begin to sprout, the blackthorn envelops itself in a radiant white mass of blossoms. But it is not until late in the year, when the first frosts herald the coming of winter, that the fruits ripen and become sweet. Thus, the blackthorn only hesitantly divulges its vital powers, keeps them in a certain inwardness. The flowers which have gone through the winter help the human organism to overcome the winter and to adapt its metabolism to the spring. The vitality-bearing fruits provide strength in states of exhaustion.

These properties are made use of in the Dr.Hauschka Skin Care. Thus Dr.Hauschka Blackthorn Body Oil strengthens and warms the skin. With its pleasant fragrance, the harmonious composition of blackthorn blossom, birch leaves and St. John'swort firms and purifies the tissues. The skin-strengthening properties give the skin a fresh, well cared for appearance.

Gently prepared oil extracts from blackthorn blossom unfold their conditioning properties in Dr.Hauschka Hand Cream, Lemon Lemongrass Body Moisturizer and Quince Body Moisturizer, too. Fully ripe blackthorn fruits harvested in the wild are carefully processed to essences which round off the composition of Dr.Hauschka Rose Body Wash, Blackthorn Body Wash, Lemon Body Wash, Lemon Lemongrass Body Moisturizer, Quince Body Moisturizer and Deodorant Fresh.

Blackthorn is an ingredient in WALA medicines designed as a remedy for states of exhaustion, prolonged convalescence and frequent colds, i.e. Mallow Oil*, Nasal Balm*, Nasal Balm for Children* and Scorodite Circulation Globuli velati*.


* Prescribing information for the preparations mentioned (the indications are derived from the anthroposophical understanding of man and nature):

Malvenöl (mallow oil)
Indications: Stimulation of the anabolic metabolism in nervous exhaustion, e.g. during convalescence.
Warning: In rare cases arachis (peanut) oil can cause local skin reactions (e.g. contact dermatitis).

Nasenbalsam (nasal balm)
Indications: Harmonisation of the interaction of sensitivity organisation and life organisation in the region of the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx and the sinuses in conditions involving an impaired ability to dissociate oneself from outside influences and weakness of the life organisation, e.g. acute and chronic inflammation of the mucous membranes, tissue shrinking (atrophy), dryness and irritability.
Warning: In rare cases wool fat can cause local skin reactions (e.g. contact dermatitis).

Nasenbalsam für Kinder (nasal balm for children)
Indications: Harmonisation of the interaction of sensitivity organisation and life organisation in the region of the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx and the sinuses in conditions involving an impaired ability to dissociate oneself from outside influences and weakness of the life organisation, e.g. acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, particularly in infants and children and in the case of particularly sensitive mucous membranes or a tendency to tissue shrinking (atrophy).
Warning: In rare cases wool fat can cause local skin reactions (e.g. contact dermatitis).

Skorodit Kreislauf Globuli velati
Indications: Stimulation of the interaction between the different constituent elements of the human being, e.g. in hypotensive circulatory dysregulation, states of exhaustion, convalescence, psychasthenia
Warning: This medicinal product contains sucrose and lactose.

* For information on risks and side-effects please read the pack insert and ask your doctor or pharmacist.

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