Prunus spinosa Prunus spinosa Prunus spinosa, called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand, Tasmania and eastern North America. "Prunus spinosa" is a large deciduous shrub or small tree growing to tall, with blackish bark and dense, stiff, spiny branches. The leaves are oval, long and broad, with a serrated margin. The flowers are about in diameter, with five creamy-white petals; they are produced shortly before the leaves in early spring, and are hermaphroditic and
Prunus 'Climax' flesh clings to the stone. The skin is dark red with yellow spots, and somewhat unpleasant in flavour, but peels away easily from the flesh when the fruit is fully ripe. Prunus 'Climax' 'Climax' is a "Prunus" cultivar, considered to be a plum. It was introduced in 1899 by plant breeder Luther Burbank. Burbank devoted a lot of work to hybridizing two plum species, the apricot plum or Simon plum "Prunus simonii" and the Japanese plum "Prunus salicina". He developed a number of cultivars from the hybrid, of which 'Climax' was particularly notable for its importance to the fruit shipping