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 salicina Prunus salicina Prunus salicina (syn. "Prunus triflora" or "Prunus thibetica"), commonly called the Japanese plum or Chinese plum, is a small deciduous tree native to China. It is now also grown in fruit orchards in Korea, Japan, the United States, and Australia. "Prunus salicina" should not be confused with the "Prunus mume", a related species of plum also grown in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Another tree, "Prunus japonica", is also a separate species despite having a Latin name similar to "Prunus salicina"'s common name. Plant breeder Luther Burbank devoted a lot of work to hybridizing this species with the