Prunus spinosa man is found in the famous case of a 5,300-year-old human mummy discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps along the Austrian-Italian border (nick-named Ötzi): among the stomach contents were sloes. A "sloe-thorn worm" used as fishing bait is mentioned in the 15th-century work, "The Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle", by Juliana Berners. The flowering of the blackthorn may have been associated with the ancient Celtic celebration of Imbolc. Prunus spinosa Prunus spinosa, called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest
Prunus subg. Padus "Padus" is polyphyletic and is therefore invalid as a genus, subgenus or anything else. In Finland and Sweden, the blooming of bird cherry ("Prunus padus", Finnish "tuomi") signifies the start of the summer for many people. In southern Finland, this normally takes place during the two last weeks of May or very early June. North Dakota State University agriculture information page about "Prunus virginiana" Prunus subg. Padus Prunus" subg. "Padus (bird cherries) is a subgenus of "Prunus", characterised by having deciduous leaves, flowers 12-30 together on slender racemes produced in late spring well after leaf emergence, and small, sour fruit