Prunus spinosa Blackthorn

A very common, spiny, deciduous shrub which grows in hedges, waysides, on exposed sea cliffs, in open woodland and in scree. It often grows in a compact, prostrate form in wind-swept locations such as on exposed coastal sea cliffs. It is a familar sight at the beginning of spring when bushes are covered in small, white, usually solitary flowers, which appear before the leaves. In summer it proces masses of blue-black fruits that have a white bloom on them. It reproduces by seed but also spreads vigorously by suckering. Its fruit, also known as sloes, can be used to make preserves, wine or to flavour gin (sloe gin) and the polished wood is used in making walking sticks. Blackthorn flowers attract lots of early flying pollinators and the leaves are important as food for the larvae of a number of moth species and also the Brown Hairstreak (Thecia betulae) and the Black Hairstrek (Strymondia pruni), neither of which occur in West Glamorgan. The Atlantic Rainforest fungus Hazel Gloves (Hypocreopsis rhododendi) has been noted on  Blackthorn in some coastal locations in West Glamorgan, e.g Bishopston Valley, Margam Moors. Blackthorn is almost ubiquitous in Britain, except for mountainous areas of Scotland and is a very common and familiar sight in West Glamorgan.

Native