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 × incam Prunus × incam Prunus × incam, sometimes called the Okamé cherry, although that name rightly belongs to its Okamé cultivar, is a hybrid species of flowering cherry, the result of a cross between "Prunus incisa" (Fuji cherry) and "Prunus campanulata" (Taiwan or bellflower cherry). It is a small tree, reaching 8m, with silver bark and showy pink flowers. Its leaves are obovate or oblanceolate, 47 to 70mm long and 22 to 31mm wide. Its fall foliage is an attractive bronze-orangish-red. Due to its hybrid nature, fruit are rarely produced even though it produces large amounts of pollen, and so it