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
Grevillea spinosa Grevillea spinosa Grevillea spinosa, also known as the spiny grevillea, is an evergreen shrub of the genus "Grevillea" native to an area in the east of the Mid West, northern Goldfields-Esperance and southern Pilbara regions of Western Australia. The prickly shrub typically grows to a height of and has non-glaucous branchlets. It has simple, dissected, subpinnatisect leaves with a blade that is . It blooms from May to September and produces a terminal raceme irregular inflorescence with green or yellow flowers and orange styles. Later it forms red-brown simple hairy oblong to ovoid fruit that is long. The plant has