sloe. 295 



young twigs, on short naked peduncles, and appear before the 

 leaves. The calyx is campanulate, with a limb divided into five 

 ovate-oblong, rather concave, spreading segments, longer than 

 the tube. The petals are snow-white, ovate-elliptical, obtuse, 

 spreading, and inserted into the calyx by slender claws. The 

 stamens are numerous, with subulate, spreading, white filaments 

 inserted into the calyx, tipped with ovate, didymous, orange- 

 coloured anthers. The germen is ovate-globose, small, gla- 

 brous, supporting a slender style the length of the stamens, ter- 

 minated by an orbicular stigma. The fruit is a small drupe, 

 sub-globose, glabrous, dark purple, covered with bloom, con- 

 taining an ovate, compressed, slightly furrowed nut, within 

 which is the oblong nucleus or kernel. Plate 41, fig. 1, (a) 

 entire flower, natural size. 



This plant is a native of Europe and America, and is frequent 

 in hedges and coppices in this country ; its pure white blossoms 

 appearing in general before the leaves, in April. 



The genus derives its name from the Greek npowv, but its 

 origin is unknown. The wpowv) a,y^r> of Dioscorides appears 

 identical with our sloe. The specific name refers, of course, to 

 the spines with which the branches are armed *. Sloe, in Saxon 

 j*la, is called Blackthorn, to distinguish it from the Whitethorn 

 or Hawthorn, which its blossoms somewhat resemble, though 

 they appear earlier. Blackthorn appears to be rather a modern 

 term, as it is not mentioned by Gerard. The bush is sometimes 

 called provincially Scroggs. The French call the fruit or sloes, 

 prunelles. 



The Sloe is by far the most common wild species of Prunus, 

 in Britain, the Wild Bullace (P. msititia), however, is not un- 

 common in some districts. This is distinguished by its larger 

 size, ovate-lanceolate leaves, downy beneath, two flowered pe- 

 duncles and larger globose fruit of a black or yellowish hue, to 

 which may be added the later appearance of its flowers, in May, 

 when the leaves are nearly expanded. It is considered the 

 original stock of the P. domestica, and consequently of all the 

 fine garden varieties of the Plum. The Wild Cherry (Prunus 



* Virgil probably refers to tbe Sloe in his 4th (ieorgic, — 



" Hie etiara seras in versum distulit ulmos, 

 Eduramque pyrum, et spinos jam prima ierentes." 



