What's in a Prague street name

Trnková was named in the early 1950s.

We’re back in the rose family today: ‘trnka’ is blackthorn, or sloe (Prunus spinosa).

Here in Czechia, their white, five-petalled flowers typically appear in late March or early April. These then bear black-blue fruit which ripen in October or November, and stay on the flower all winter.

Hence the phrase ‘blackthorn winter’ to refer to a particularly cold season.

Blackthorn fruits are used to flavour liqueurs – think sole gin, or the the Basque patxaran – and jams. They also have a diuretic effect, making them a useful medicinal plant.

And the wood from the plants is used to make walking sticks, such as the Irish shillelagh.