Prunus spinosa Britain, and in Germany and other central European countries. Sloes can also be made into jam, chutney, and used in fruit pies. Sloes preserved in vinegar are similar in taste to Japanese "umeboshi". The juice of the fruits dyes linen a reddish colour that washes out to a durable pale blue. Blackthorn makes an excellent fire wood that burns slowly with a good heat and little smoke. The wood takes a fine polish and is used for tool handles and canes. Straight blackthorn stems have traditionally been made into walking sticks or clubs (known in Ireland as a shillelagh). In
Prunus tangutica fruit are green when unripe and purplishred when ripe. The fruits' mesocarps (fleshy exterior) splits when ripe, which led to it being classified as an almond for over a century, with the exception of Kovalev & Kostina in 1935, who assigned it to "Persica". Prunus tangutica Prunus tangutica () is a species of wild peach native to China. Based on its fruit traits it had been considered a wild almond, but genetic and morphological studies have shown that it is more closely related to "Prunus persica", the cultivated peach, with its closest relative being "Prunus mongolica". It is a very