Identification Features

• Bark: Bark is smooth and dark brown to almost black. 
• Twigs: Fine, downy at first, purple-grey, stiff. Many side shoots terminate in spines.
• Buds: Very small (1-2mm). Some on the actual spines.

Description/General Character:
Messy-looking, dense, twiggy, spiny, spreading. Generally looks like a big bush rather than a tree. Can form impenetrable thickets. Can be surrounded by suckers. Hard to see any central trunk.

Range:
Widespread and common throughout Europe (except the far north) and into northern Asia.

Habitat:
Woodland, hedgerows and scrub. Likes heavier soils.

Other Observations:
Blackthorn is a plum. The fruit (sloes) can remain wizened on the branches over winter. Blackthorn flowers in the early Spring - before it have put out any leaves. Blossom is dense.