IN the springtime hedgerows of England there grows two small trees which bear white blossom.

One is the hawthorn which is also known as the white thorn and which has a white blossom. This appears after the leaves. Hawthorn blossom appears in May.

In contrast the blackthorn appears April and into May before the leaves. The white blossom stands out against the black thorny branches. The hard shiny timber was once used to make walking sticks and its knotted branches were used in Ireland to make shillelaghs which were (and are) very dangerous weapons. The scientific name for the plant is Prunus spinosa.

Prunus tells us that it is a member of the plum family and spinosa means that it is spiny.

In the days when tea was more expensive than it is today some cheats in search of a quick profit used to mix blackthorn leaves with those of the tea. In the days before we had chemists shops blackthorn leaves were brewed up to produce a liquid which was said to be good for the blood. It does not taste so bad but I very much doubt if it did much good.

Blackthorn spreads not only through the distribution of the plum-like fruit which contains a seed inside a stone but also by putting out underground suckers.

This can soon produce a large thicket which means that the blackthorn is ideal for planting in hedges. Hedges were important to keep farm animals enclosed before barbed wire was invented.

The fruits, which are of a deep purple colour sometimes look as if they have been dusted with white powder. They are called sloes and inside is a fertile seed protected inside a hard stone.

They are far too sour for us to eat, but from the time they are ripe in September birds and small mammals eat them. Sloes are, however, used to make a drink called sloe-gin.

Long ago the dark juice was squeezed out of the fruit and sold under the name of German Acacia. In the days before we all had washing machines people used to send their clothes to a laundry.

They used to mark their clothes with a number written in German Acacia. This did not run but it did not wash out either.

The bark of the tree was used to make ink. There was a huge demand for bottles of ink for use at home, offices and in schools. The demand was reduced when the ball point pen was invented. The inventor's name was Mr Biro!

We should all enjoy the beauty of our countryside, but we should not forget the uses once made of it by our ancestors. Sloe gin, laundry marks, ink and the shillelagh were all important uses and I love the old name for the latter. It was called the Irish tranquilliser!