Prunus spinosa the British Army, blackthorn sticks are carried by commissioned officers of the Royal Irish Regiment; this is a tradition also in Irish regiments in some Commonwealth countries. The leaves resemble tea leaves, and were used as an adulterant of tea. Shlomo Yitzhaki, a Talmudist and Tanakh commentator of the High Middle Ages, writes that the sap (or gum) of "P. spinosa" (which he refers to as the ) was used as an ingredient in the making of some inks used for manuscripts. The fruit stones have been found in Swiss lake dwellings. Evidence of the early use of sloes by
Prunus yunnanensis from 3.5 to 6cm long and 2 to 3.5cm wide. The leaves are a darker green on the top surface. Typically the inflorescences have 3 to 9 flowers borne on subcorymbose racemes or long racemes. Each flower has 33–45 stamens. The fruit, a drupe, is purplish red, 7 to 10mm by 5 to 8mm. It is planted as an ornamental street tree in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Prunus yunnanensis Prunus yunnanensis, the Yunnan cherry () is a species of "Prunus" native to Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan and adjacent provinces of southeast China, preferring to grow at 1900–2600m. The white flowers