Friday Foraging #82 -21st Feb 2025

Friday Foraging.

Blackthorn

I love a good old Blackthorn tree, you can use the thorns for banishing spells and piercing negative energy in magic, the fallen wood makes great wands and health wise the sloe berries are great for nutrition benefit. (Don't forget to cook before eating - see Tuesdays post on the health benefits)

Blackthorn trees - Prunus spinosa, part of the Rosacea family grow to about 4mts tall, you will find it around the edges of fields, grassland around woods, or just poking out of hedgerows.

The tree has very dark bark which can help with identification, as can the long thorns (Don't mix up with Hawthorn) The flowers come out in very late February-April before the leaves actually appear. The berry, called a sloe is visible and ready for picking between September and November, but they generally don't last that long once people know they are there. They look like small dark plums with a pale greyish plume over the skin and they grow in small clusters. The astringent berries and bark have been used to treat diarrhoea, while the flowers have been used as a laxative.

Sloes were also used as remedies for coughs and colds because of their astringency. The peeled bark boiled in water was an old crones remedy for bronchitis.

Foraging wise, we can use the fruits, the leaves and the flowers, pretty much like the hawthorn, most parts are good for us and have nutritional benefit.

You can use the leaves in a herbal tea, sugar the flowers for cake decorating or add to salads to brighten them up and the berries of course can be used in all the traditional ways of jams, syrups, gins and wines.

As with all herbal remedies, caution should be taken when using Blackthorn for the first time and if you are on prescribed medication. Although there are no specific contra indications listed for Blackthorn, it is always best to avoid if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.