Want to know what are the health benefits of blackthorn flowers and how to use them at home? Continue reading and find out.
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) grows in clearings, on pastures and meadows, but especially at the edge of forests. Birds take good care of the reproduction of blackthorn, by scattering the undigested kernels of the blackthorn fruits. It is the first shrub that spring clothes in waves of white flowers. The blackthorn bushes, with their white scented flowers, like the foam of the sea, are among the hastiest and most graceful messengers of spring, a joy for the eyes of nature lovers, who recognize them from a great distance, in the forests still frozen by the cold.
How to Harvest Blackthorn Flowers
Hawthorn flowers can be picked by hand, with great care, starting from March until the end of April. After harvesting, lay them to dry in a shaded, well-ventilated place. Harvesting is easier on warm and sunny days. Blackthorn flowers are white as snow, with the scent of honey and bitter almonds, and have five petals and many stamens, just like apple and cherry blossoms. The blackthorn leaves are oval, long, and rigged on the edges and come out only after blossoming.
Blackthorn flowers can easily be confused with hawthorn flowers, but there is a major distinction between the two. The hawthorn only blooms in May, and its flowers appear at the same time as the leaves. Hawthorn flowers come out much earlier than hawthorn ones.
It is said that when the blackthorn has many flowers, the year will be fruitful. In some areas of the Balkans, people sowed corn when the blackthorn shrub was in bloom blooms. In Oltenia, girls would catch mărțișoare in the branches of the blackthorn shrub, so that their faces are as white and beautiful as the blackthorn flowers.
Hawthorn berries, also known as sloe berries, can only be harvested in autumn, late, after the fall of the first frosts, otherwise, they are sour and astringent. The cold of the approaching winter ripes and sweetens them. If you want to learn more about the health uses of hawthorn berries, you can read this article here.
Health Benefits of Blackthorn Flowers
The blackthorn has been known since Neolithic times (5000-4000 BC). Its fruits are among the oldest foods used by man. According to some recent research, blackthorn flowers contain a whole series of active substances with strong laxative, diuretic, and detoxifying properties – making them great natural weight loss aids. While the blackthorn fruits, or sloes, have natural astringent action, are antidiarrheal, and can cure dysentery. Blackthorn flower preparations are also indicated in hypertension, as a diuretic-depurative and weak laxative. Other health benefits of blackthorn flowers are:
- Kidney failure and stones – Steep 2 tablespoons of blackthorn flowers in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Strain and drink 2-3 cups a day.
- Constipation – Steep a teaspoon of flowers in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Strain and drink in the morning, on an empty stomach, for three days.
- Hypothyroidism – Infusion: 2 cups a day, after meals; Tincture: 30 drops of blackthorn flowers tincture 2 times a day, with a little water or herbal tea.
- Thyroid nodules – Prepare an herbal ointment in equal parts of St. John’s wort flowers, calendula, blackthorn flowers, and lemon balm leaves. Apply the ointment twice a day around the thyroid area by gently massaging it in a circular motion.
- Insomnia – Steep 2 tablespoons of blackthorn flowers in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Drink the tea before going to bed.
- Chronic suppurative lung disease (CSLD) – Steep 1 teaspoon of blackthorn flowers in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Drink 2-3 cups a day.
How to Use Blackthorn Flowers for Weight Loss
As mentioned, one of the main health benefits of blackthorn flowers is weight loss. Here is how to use them at home. In addition to following a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in processed foods and animal products, you can drink teas and supplement with tinctures made from the flowers and fruits of hawthorn. In certain combinations, these natural remedies are designed to eliminate toxins from the body, and thus facilitate weight loss.
Blackthorn Flowers Tea Recipe
- Blackthorn flowers – 20 g – stimulate digestion
- Dandelion root – 20 g – depurative
- Bradisor leaves – 20 g – diuretic
- Mint leaves – 20 g – improve the taste
- Calendula flowers – 20 g – detoxifier
Combine together these herbs and flowers and steep a teaspoon of this mixture with a cup of boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain the tea, and drink it, in small sips, before the main meals. Drink three cups a day.
Blackthorn Flowers Tincture
This tincture blends helps detoxify the body and thus, promotes weight loss. Combine the following tinctures:
- Blackthorn tincture – 10 ml – stimulates digestion
- Dandelion tincture – 20 ml – depurative
- Lovage tincture – 10 ml – diuretic
- Lemon balm tincture – 10 ml – soothing
Take 15-25 drops of the tincture mixture diluted with a little water, about 1/2 hour after the main meals, three times a day. This powerful herbal tincture mix stimulates digestion and removes residues and toxins from the body. Take it alongside the tea blend above.
Read Also: 3 Health Benefits of Hawthorn Flowers and How to Use
In an Italian village called Bra, a miracle happens. From 1336 onwards, a blackthorn bush blooms year after year near the Resurrection, in the immediate vicinity of a sanctuary dedicated to the Holy Virgin. It is a place sought by many pilgrims, who come to venerate the Holy Virgin and to see the wonderful flower that wants to comfort her from the loss of her beloved Son. If you’ve enjoyed learning about the health benefits of blackthorn flowers and how to use them, please share this article so more people can use this info. Stay healthy, naturally!
Share on Pinterest
