Sloes and Damsons

Sloe berries, Prunus spinosa, beside a path in West Wickham.
10 August 2011.

These sloes are the fruit of the Blackthorn, a spiny shrub whose fresh Spring flowers I showed right back in March, here: Blackthorn in Hayes.

In this photo the shrub is growing right up against a green mesh fence, and it is regularly trimmed back to protect passers-by. This has not deterred it from fruiting prolifically.

Sloes are often used as flavouring for gin, and though it is less well known, the same is true of damsons, a closely related fruit like a small plum (the sloe is like an even smaller plum). A friend has an old Damson tree in her garden, and some years ago I tried this out, taking a bottle of gin, washing and piercing the damsons, and leaving them to soak.

I don't drink much alcohol, and some of them were left soaking for years. The resulting drink did taste good.

The tree shown below is much younger and healthier than Su's old survivor, but they both produce the same crop. Notice the spider's orb web at bottom left - they are everywhere!

Damson fruits, Prunus domestica, at High Elms Country Park, 20 September 2011.