blackthorn

[ blak-thawrn ]

/ ˈblækˌθɔrn /

a shrub or tree of the genus Crataegus, as C. calpodendron.

a walking stick made of a blackthorn tree or shrub.

Also called sloe. a much-branched, thorny, Old World shrub, Prunus spinosa, having white flowers and small plumlike fruits.

pear haw.

Origin of blackthorn

First recorded in 1350–1400, blackthorn is from the Middle English word blak thorn. See black, thorn

It feeds on blackthorn in May and June, and will eat the foliage of almost any kind of plum.

The Butterflies of the British Isles |Richard South
The blackthorn remained in the umbrella-stand while Scrafton roared and blustered in the upper schoolroom.

Young Blood |E. W. Hornung
The grape does not grow upon the blackthorn; nor does healthy reform come from high dignitaries like the Archbishop of Mayence.

Short Studies on Great Subjects |James Anthony Froude
Most of it is great bushes of blackthorn, hard as oak, with thorns like two-inch nails, and sharper.

The Naturalist on the Thames |C. J. Cornish

His success was due to his knowledge of the hare's taste for blackthorn twigs.

A Shepherd's Life |W. H. Hudson

blackthorn

/ (ˈblækˌθɔːn) /

Also called: sloe a thorny Eurasian rosaceous shrub, Prunus spinosa, with black twigs, white flowers, and small sour plumlike fruits

a walking stick made from its wood