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What the sloe looks like and where it grows
The sloe, also known as blackthorn or blackthorn, is a sprawling shrub with heavily branched branches and thorns at the ends. She’s part of the familythe rose family. The shrub grows three meters tall and is rarely found alone. Sloes form dense hedges at the edge of sparse deciduous forests, like on calcareous soil, because their creeping roots develop shoots. In the wild, this often creates an impenetrable thorn bush. The sloe flowers in March/April. Their flowers are only about an inch in size. However, thanks to their numbers, they transform the shrub into a white cloud that gives off a light almond scent. Only then will the leaves begin to sprout. Blue fruits grow in autumn, which become almost black as they ripen. With their veil of frost, they are reminiscent of large blueberries. Nevertheless, sloes are drupes and relatives of plums (Prunus). Except in the far north, the sloe is found throughout Europe, also in Eurasia,
Where sloe helps
Hildegard von Bingen said it had healing powers for the stomach. Sebastian Kneipp valued them as a mild laxative. Because of the astringent effect of sloe, an infusion for gargling is said to relieve inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat. Juice, tea or purée made from sloe are also said to have a strengthening and appetizing effect – for example as a tonic after recovering from an infection. Today you can also name the active components of the sloe: coloring and bitter substances, tannic acids and vitamin C
What’s in her
Flowers and fruits have been used as gentle medicines since ancient times. However, sloe has never achieved great importance in naturopathy.
When is harvest time
Sloe fruits are edible, but initially the green flesh under the blue skin is tart and sour. Only after the first night frosts do tannic acids break down. The fruits become sweet and tasty. They can then be processed into syrup, mousse and jam or dried.
The importance of sloe as a food
For Stone Age people, sloe fruits were a matter of course on the menu. During excavations of pile dwellings in Switzerland, researchers discovered large amounts of sloe kernels. The famous glacier man Ötzi is also said to have had sloe fruit with him – as an easily available emergency ration from the edge of the forest. The animal kingdom cannot do without the sloe either: in the spring, the nectar-rich carpet of flowers provides food for wild bees and butterflies in particular. The leaves are popular with many butterfly caterpillars. Some bird species find a sheltered nesting place in the thorny thicket.
How she becomes a weatherman
Farmers’ wisdom uses the sloe blossom to calculate the harvest time of grain. The days between the first blossom and St. George’s Day (April 23) count as an indicator. In addition, many fruits are said to indicate a severe winter.
