Blackthorn blossom

[Brachystegia]

On what feels like the coldest day I've experienced this winter I spotted my first sloe blossom of the season whilst passing through the Beckton area of East London.
The adjacent knotweed was already in leaf and around 1m tall.

[aeshna5]

Was it definitely Blackthorn as Cherry Plum looks similar + usually flowers earlier + close examination of twigs would be best way to tell them apart at this time of year. Hybrids between the 2 are quite common just to confuse the issue- best told by fruits.

[Brachystegia]

Completely certain.

[Hobjob]

I too saw some blossom, 95% sure pure blackthorn, at Minsmere
to-day (25 January 2007); seems terribly early.

I have a lovely little wild flower book given to my late
Grandmother for Christmas 1892 .......

"Country people will tell you, too, that its name alludes
to the fact, that this blossom appears during the
"black winds of March", or "Blackthorn winter" "

So is it getting earlier like everything else?

[mrs fish]

What is the tiny white blossom I see out at the moment?

[henrya]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

What is the tiny white blossom I see out at the moment?

Well, if it's in roadside hedges it's probably either Blackthorn or Cherry Plum. In general terms, Cherry Plum blooms before Blackthorn, but it seems to me that the ones that bloom really, really early, often just a few flowers on a bush, are early Blackthorns. Why can't these wild flowers read the books?

In garden hedges there are lots of possibles.

henrya

[Brachystegia]

Originally Posted by Brachystegia

Completely certain.

I apologise, that reply was terse, please allow me to clarify (for doubting dragonflies?); I've identified the thicket where I observed the flowers as Prunus spinosa based on:

* previous experience with the area and both P. spinosa and P. cerasifera,
* more pertinently, the sloes I enjoyed last year from the same thicket.

I was interested to read,

Originally Posted by henrya

but it seems to me that the ones that bloom really, really early, often just a few flowers on a bush, are early Blackthorns.

as the aforementioned thicket is quite extensive - at least 30 suckers and saplings - yet only 3 had a few blooms (no more than 15 in total). The flowering individuals were not confined to one specific part of the population so I don't believe microclimatic factors are responsible.
I think henrya is correct and these plants are the poor students.