hawthorn, whitethorn & blackthorn

aunt pol

As obtuse as this sounds, which is which?
Which is the one that's all out in lovely little white flowers right now, said flowers turning pink later on in summer?

Sundew

It's the whitethorn that is all in blossom at the moment. It is also referred to as "Hawthorn" and in rural Ireland there is a tradition of hanging it on your garden gate to ward off bad luck.

http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/hawthorn.htm
http://www.shee-eire.com/Herbs,Trees&Fungi/Trees/Hawthorn/Factsheet1.htm

The Blackthorn is a darker bush that produces "sloes" (round black/purple berries similar in size to a marble) in Autumn. It s not as pretty to look at as the hawthorn whose leaves whilst very small are similar to that of an oak tree. Good description of it in these few articles.


http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about798.html
http://www.irishwildflowers.ie/pages-trees/t-5.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_spinosa

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

A handy way of recognising them in flower is:

Blackthorn flowers open before the leaves and Hawthorn leaves open first and then flowers.

Doubt.It

I was wondering for ages and finally looked it up today - How do you tell a whitethorn from a hawthorn?

Turns out you can't. It's the same tree, AKA the may tree.

The blackthorn is a very different tree, and is often seen in the form of hedges. Famous of course for its sloe berries - a small sour plum - and its very tough gnarly timber historically favoured for walking and fighting sticks.

swifts need our help!

Sloe Gin mmmmmm

Durnish

Also, sloe can start flowering in Feb/March, hawthorn is always early/mid May.

Spuddeeez

so just to confirm, the Whitehorn blooms first, usually in Feb./March. The Blackthorn blooms end of April to mid May (which can be seen at the moment in the hedgerows)?

Gambas

Spuddeeez wrote: »

so just to confirm, the Whitehorn blooms first, usually in Feb./March. The Blackthorn blooms end of April to mid May (which can be seen at the moment in the hedgerows)?

No, what you see flowering now is hawthorn.

Blackthorn - flowers come before leaves (Late March/April)
Hawthorn (aka Whitethorn, Maythorn) - leaves before flowers (Late April/May)

iPink

Spuddeeez wrote: »

so just to confirm, the Whitehorn blooms first, usually in Feb./March. The Blackthorn blooms end of April to mid May (which can be seen at the moment in the hedgerows)?

No it's the other way round!! They are both types of rose family...
Blackthorn is finished flowering now & the Whitethorn is just starting to flower- hence the name Mayflower (where I am anyway) though it puts it's leaves out earlier, around the same time as the Blackthorn flowers!
Blackthorn is also often confused with wild plum (or damson.... Can't remember which!) Which is also a member of the Rose family, blooms at the same time in hedges & bushes & looks very similiar.
Whitethorn & Hawthorn are the same thing though Hawthorn is usually the English name!

swifts need our help!

People also confuse the ornamental flowering plum, planted along roadsides and housing estates, for blackthorn.