The blackthorn is a venomous beast at the best of times in Mayo
COUNTRYFILE
THE first flowers of the year are those in the garden – daffodil, crocus and more.
But there is another not far behind, one that whitens the hedgerow and fills a warm morning with the delicious scent of almonds.
Meet the blackthorn. This is a venomous beast at the best of times.
The spines are poisonous, even during the winter when the tree is hibernating.
But now, with the sap rising, any wound inflicted by those woody needles that liberally adorn every branch and even every twiglet is likely to be painful and long-lasting.
We soon learn to respect this shrub. But that shouldn't put us off altogether, for the flowers, which appear in creamy white, frothy abundance, are absolutely delicious and should be experienced by everyone at some point in their lives.
A stout glove is needed, to bring a flowering stem within reach. The picking hand will need a delicate touch.
Not every flower is flavorsome, but only those male flowers that hold grains of golden pollen are. Gathering more than cupful of suitable blossom is just too time consuming.
The good news is that only a double pinch of blackthorn flowers is needed to give a wonderful flavor to a pint of chilled water.
What can we say, but give it a try. Who knows, perhaps the alleged medicinal benefits will manifest themselves. Diuretic and anti-inflammatory, says my book.
Should you impale your finger on one of those stout thorns and have it swell to double its normal size by the next day, just eat the flowers and all will be back to normal in no time.
My advice would be to go light on them, in case it should be the laxative effect that comes most to the fore.
In some areas the appearance of blackthorn blossom was taken to indicate that spring grain crops should be sown. In others, an early flowering for this shrub foretold an early harvest, which would make perfect sense if the first proverb was put into practice.
For those who aren't sure if they are looking at blackthorn or hawthorn, remember that the former puts out flowers before it does leaves, in the manner of all members of the plum family. The hawthorn produces leaves far in advance of flowers.
The blackthorn is often seen as nothing more than a nuisance, with its impenetrable growth and habit of producing innumerable suckers.
A field corner left to itself can soon become overrun and the work needed to reclaim that piece of land will be considerable. Yet in its proper place it is a very useful plant indeed.
When it comes to establishing woodland, the tendency is to move in and plant the kind of trees that the timber industry is really interested in.
Such a short-term view would seem the most economically sound. Yet if we allow nature to take its course, the long-term results might be far better than anticipated.
Pioneer trees such as willow, birch and alder prepare the ground for a second generation of trees.
They do this by drying the ground out, by adding atmospheric nitrogen to the soil and by adding an annual layer of humus in the form of leaves and other dead matter.
By the time these pioneer trees are near maturity, small birds are bringing in the seeds of blackthorn, hawthorn and more, which form a second phase of forest development.
When this secondary stage is about grown, oak and other climax forest trees appear.
The entire process is beneficial to the greater environment, supporting a huge range of plant and animal life.
Yes, it takes many years. If we don't get it right we might not have many years.