Blackthorn: Great Strength Of A Small Berry

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Blackthorn is unpretentious to growing conditions and in nature it can be found almost everywhere - from warm southern to cold northern regions. But in the home garden, this is not such a common culture. Perhaps this is due to the fact that raw fruits have too sour and tart taste, and the tree itself is of modest size. But nothing beats the pleasure of hot tea with thorn jam, when outside the window is snow and frost

Features of the turn

The thorn is also called the prickly plum. It is to this savage that we owe the appearance of the domestic plum as a result of crossing the blackthorn with cherry plum. It is a low shrub, sometimes a tree. Its shoots are prickly to the touch, although the thorns themselves are often invisible. The plant blooms profusely, and then is densely covered with fruits. They ripen much later than other cultivated fruits, around August. The berries are very dense, stick well to branches and can sag before winter arrives.

The blackthorn has a strong root system that gives life to dense growth. And this is an excellent material for vegetative propagation - the shoots quickly take root in a new place. But if you leave the shrub in the garden unattended, it will be difficult to approach the fruit through its thorny thickets. But it is ideal for creating a green hedge. In addition, the thorn is an excellent honey plant.

Blackthorn in home breeding work

To meet a thorn with large fruits in nature is a great success. As a rule, wild birds are small in size, and moving them into the garden for harvesting will seem like a thankless task due to the difficulties with harvesting.

By the way, the blackthorn can be used not only for harvesting, but also for important breeding work. For example, for grafting plums. This tree is not highly winter-hardy. But in combination with thorns, gardeners got the opportunity to grow this lover of a warm climate in the more frosty northern regions. You just have to be patient, since high-yielding varieties are, as a rule, with repeated crosses of the third generation. And such hybrids will already be able to please with the quality of the fruit.

However, you should know when to stop in everything! Indeed, along with the positive qualities, the offspring of the thorn transmits its other characteristics. For example, the appearance of thorns on the shoots, grinding plums. Whenever possible, it is better to immediately use hybrids for reproduction and for vaccinations. Among such widespread and productive varieties are Tern large-fruited, Renklod of thorns, Renklod reform.

How to use thorn fruit

Only at first glance, the possibilities of using thorns in cooking seem to be very scarce. Upon closer acquaintance, you will be surprised what delights are prepared from it in different parts of the world.

The thorns are suitable not only for making jam. They make kvass and vinegar. Many housewives use this tart sourness to acidify various dishes - soups, hodgepodge, gravy for meat.

Unripe fruits are pickled to be used in recipes instead of olives. And if you roast them, the taste becomes similar to coffee, and you can make very aromatic drinks from such unusual raw materials.

By the way, for the preparation of drinks, not only fruits are used, but also the leaves of the plant. They are rich in vitamin C, and in terms of the content of ascorbic acid they can compete with the champion in this field among berry bushes - black currant. Therefore, tea from thorn leaves turns out to be not only very fragrant, but also extremely useful.

In folk medicine, the healing properties of thorns are used. In particular, the juice of the fruit of the plant is famous for its astringent properties. Thanks to this, it is a good helper for digestive disorders. If there is a need for a laxative, then you can use the infusion of flowers.