Blackthorn
Prunus spinosaBlackthorn is a dense shrub with stiff, thorny branches. Its white flowers open on the bare, almost black stems in March, and in autumn it carries dusty blue sloes.
How to identify blackthorn →
Lookalikes
Blackthorn or spindle?
Its leaves are much the shape of a blackthorn leaf, and the two share a hedge.
The quickest check
The quickest check is the top of a leaf. Blackthorn: dull green and wrinkled. Spindle: shiny and slightly waxy. No leaves on the tree? Check the young shoot.
At a glance
| Look at | Blackthorn | Spindle |
|---|---|---|
| Top of a leaf | Dull green and wrinkled | Shiny and slightly waxy |
| Young shoot | Gleaming purple, side-shoots running out to spines | Thin and deep green, feeling square |
| Fruit in autumn | Round, dusty blue sloe with one stone | Pink four-lobed fruit, splitting to show orange seeds |
Three ways to tell them apart
Top of a leafLeaves
Young shootTwigs and buds
Fruit in autumnSloes
The two trees
Spindle
Euonymus europaeusSpindle is a shrub or small tree, most often in hedges. In autumn its bright pink fruit splits open to show four orange seeds. Its twigs are deep green and slightly square.
Their other lookalikes
Blackthorn or hawthorn?Quickest check: the flowers and leaves, and when→
Blackthorn or cherry plum?Quickest check: the flower and its stalk→
Blackthorn or wild cherry?Quickest check: how the flowers sit→
Blackthorn or crab apple?Quickest check: when it flowers→
Spindle or field maple?Quickest check: the outline of a leaf→
In the app
See them side by side in Treely
- Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
- Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
- A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
- The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
Free to download.
Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: steve_mcwilliam (CC0), jsilloth (CC0), Nicola Crockford (CC BY 4.0), Alex Press (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.