Prunus spinosa insect-pollinated. The fruit, called a "sloe", is a drupe in diameter, black with a purple-blue waxy bloom, ripening in autumn and harvested – traditionally, at least in the UK – in October or November after the first frosts. Sloes are thin-fleshed, with a very strongly astringent flavour when fresh. "Prunus spinosa" is frequently confused with the related "P. cerasifera" (cherry plum), particularly in early spring when the latter starts flowering somewhat earlier than "P. spinosa". They can be distinguished by flower colour, creamy white in "P. spinosa", pure white in "P. cerasifera". They can also be distinguished in winter by
Prunus maximowiczii leaves of "P. maximowiczii" are green; and those from the fruit, a dark grey to green. Chemically, amygdalin and prunasin, the derivatives of which produce prussic acid as well as Genistein can be extracted from "P. maximowiczii". Prunus maximowiczii Prunus maximowiczii, known as Korean cherry, Korean mountain cherry, or Miyama cherry, is a small (about 7.5 m), fruiting cherry tree that can be found growing wild in northeastern Asia and Eurasia. The species was first described in 1857 by Franz Josef Ruprecht. It was treated in the genus "Cerasus" (now generally accepted as a subgenus of "Prunus") by Vladimir Leontyevich