Elder
Parts Usually Used
Root, inner bark, leaf buds, berries, leaves, flowers
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Elderberry is a native American shrub, growing 5-12 feet tall; the stems with white pith, are covered with rough, yellowish-gray bark and bear opposite, compound, pinnate leaves with 5-11 elliptical, lance-ovate, serrate leaflets. Numerous small, white flowers appear in flat, umbrella-like clusters or cymes from May to July. The fruit is a dark purplish black berry; July to September.
Easily propagated by the suckers that it freely produces. Partial shade. The odor is faintly sweet, aromatic; taste is slightly bitter. Other varieties: Black elder (S. nigra); Red elder (S. racemosa), Paiute Indian name “Koono gibu” and Shoshone Indian name “Duhiembuh” is the red elderberry; Elderberry (S. glauca), Paiute Indian name “Hubu,” is the blue elderberry; Dwarf elder (S.
ebulus), also called dead-wort and wall-wort.
Where Found
Grows in damp areas, rich soils, and waste places, thickets, along trails, and roadsides, in fields, fences and ditches, particularly in the central and eastern states of the United States. Nova Scotia to Georgia; Texas to Manitoba.
Medicinal Properties
Aged bark: emetic, cathartic (topical-emollient) Flowers: diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, exanthematous, alterative, emollient, discutient, rubrifacient, stimulant (topical-anti-inflammatory) Berries: antiviral, laxative, diuretic, promotes sweating
Biochemical Information
An unknown bitter principle, saponins, hydrocyanic acid and sambuline.
Legends, Myths and Stories
Native Americans called elder the “tree of music” and made flutes from branches cut in spring and dried with the leaves on. Large shoots were used for arrow shafts. The ancient Germans believed it to be the dwelling of Mother Hulda, the protectress of house and home. On virtually every German farm an elderberry shrub could be found near the house or the stalls or in the garden.
There is legitimate reason to assume that elderberry was used for medicinal purposes even in prehistoric times. In ancient times, elder trees were believed to have special mystical properties and it was considered good luck to plant a tree near the home to protect against disease and evil spirits. There is one planted outside of Westminster Abbey for this purpose. The Legend of the Elder, according to Earl Mindell’s Herb Bible, states: “The elder tree was reputed to be the favorite tree of witches, who supposedly resided in its branches.
In the Middle Ages, nearly everyone knew that cutting down an elder tree would incur the wrath of the witches who called it home. ” Judas is said to have hung himself from this type of tree. One of the oldest legends held that it was the elder wood that was used for making the Cross of Calvary. Sorrow and death was believed to hover over this plant, even back in the Dark Ages when the barbarians poured out of the forests fringing the edge of civilization.
If an elder bush flowers after being trimmed in the shape of a cross and planted over a new grave, it was believed the soul of the person lying beneath was happy. Green branches were buried with the corpse to protect it from witches and evil spirits. The drivers of hearses even carried whips made of elder wood. It was believed that a child would stop growing if whipped with an elder stick.
The sticks were believed to kill serpents and drive off robbers. ” Dried flowers used to add a delicate flavor to some Moselle wines. Fresh or dried berries used to make factitious port wine, and to adulterate that beverage. ”
Uses
Historically, herbalists prepared a tea from elder root as a diuretic and cathartic. Certain Native American traditions utilized a root-bark tea for headaches, coughs, mucous congestion, colds, fever, and neuralgia. Practitioners applied infusions of the leaves and flowers or decoctions of the bark externally as washes for skin irritations, age spots, freckles, wounds, gout, and localized inflammation.
Warm flower infusions were traditionally consumed to induce perspiration, purify the blood, and address rheumatism and cold-related headaches, while cold preparations were noted for diuretic effects. European folk traditions frequently utilized hot infusions of the flowers, occasionally combined with peppermint or yarrow, at the onset of colds, or applied simple flower infusions as eyewashes.
Elder flower teas were also traditionally consumed in the evening. Herbalists noted that the dried seeds were taken for weight loss, an infusion of leaf buds was utilized as a strong purgative, and a syrup prepared from the fresh berry juice served as a milder laxative. Topically, practitioners blended the berry juice into lard or cream bases to create ointments for burns, rashes, and dry skin.
The bruised foliage and leaf-based sprays were employed as garden repellents against flies, caterpillars, and mildew. In culinary traditions, the flowers and cooked berries were used to prepare wines, jams, pies, or to flavor conventional teas.
How Sold
Teas, wines, fruits and salves
Warning
Bark, root, leaves, and unripe berries are toxic, said to cause cyanide poisoning, severe diarrhea. Flowers not thought to be toxic; eaten in pancakes and fritters. Only bark that has been aged for a year or more should be used or cyanide poisoning may result. The Western species are more toxic. All parts of the fresh plant can cause poisoning. Children have been poisoned by chewing or sucking on the bark.
Cooked berries are safe and are commonly used in pies and jam. Commercially obtained preparations (teas, salves) are perfectly safe. Do not use the bark in pregnancy; it is very strongly purgative.
Bibliography
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