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the video above compliments, rather than duplicates, the
information below
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Elder Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis
Elder are most often found in low,
wet areas, usually in moderate to large numbers. Here
in North America, they exist as something between a bush
(usually) and a small tree (on occasion). The leaves
are compound, having five to nine leaflets, and can be
distinguished before flowering by a narrow groove that
runs along the top of the leafstem. In the summer, they
become quite showy, putting forth numerous white umbels
of flowers, which ripen to purple-black berry clusters
in the fall. Both the flowers and ripe berries offer
excellent medicinal virtues. There is also a red
berried elder, which looks very similar but flowers
early in the spring and bears its fruit in early
summer. Oregon herbalist Steven Yeager has told me he’s
used red elderflower as one would use that of black
elder, but while red elder berries, when cooked,
are not toxic (indeed, they’re edible, if odd), they
aren’t interchangeable, and probably should not be used
(best elaboration here comes to us in
Sam Thayer’s
exceptional edible tome Nature’s Garden).
The folklore surrounding elder is
without end, and (alas) too extensive to give proper
attention here. Suffice to say, elder is steeped in
myth, and is among the most revered of herbs; being
considered in many European traditions to be a guardian
and gatekeeper to the virtues of all other growing
things. To enter this gateway and learn the deeper
virtues of the plants, one must approach elder (oft
called the hylde-moer or “Elder Mother”) with humility,
gratitude and respect. Maude Greive’sModern Herbal and Stephen Harrod Buhner’sSacred and Herbal Healing Beers delve much more
deeply into the lore of the elder, and are worth looking
into to gain a deeper insight into its mythical
medicine.
The dried flowers of elder are one of
the most traditional and reliable herbs for use in the
treatment of colds, flus & fevers. As a gentle but
virtuous relaxant diaphoretic, they open the pores to
cool the body, encourage sweating, and help to
expectorate phlegm from the lungs, and so are indicated
in fevers accompanied by stuffy sinus or lung
congestion. I'm of the opinion that regular use of
elderflower tea helps keep mucus at an ideal and
functional consistency, allowing it to most effectively
fight infections (because your runny nose isn't an
illness, it's a immune response that's fighting
an illness and you want to support it).
Elderflowers are very mildly calming, and help to
instill a bit of “ease” that makes getting through a
fever a bit more bearable. They make for a rather tasty
tea with honey/floral notes, (which, for the uses
mentioned above, ideally drunk hot), and being that
elder is safe even for small children, this makes it a
far more user friendly to those adverse to more...
"unfamiliar" herbal flavors. Elderflower is a
staple in almost all the cold/flu/fever teas I blend.
One particularly tasty example is elderflower, orange
mint, and blackberry leaf. To this base formula,
other herbs can be added as indicated: rosehips, some
sage, lemon balm, cinnamon... add what makes sense for
the person you're working with.
After elderflower tea
tea cools, it loses some of its diaphoretic properties
and acts more as a diuretic and alterative. A weak
tea of elderflowers, or the distilled flower water, can be
used as a rather pleasing skin toner, in much the same
way as witch hazel extract, though it is not so
astringent. It can also be used for treating eye
inflammations by straining it well and adding 1/4th
teaspoon salt per cup and using as an eyewash. Hot
compresses of elderflower tea can be used to ease the
pain of enflamed swellings, hemorrhoids, and headaches.
Independent of its
medicinal virtues, elderflower tea is a darn nice
sipping tea.
By mid to late summer
(depending on the season and where you live), the
flowers have ripened to purple-black berries, weighing
the branches down under their weight. These, indeed,
can be quite abundant, and can be used to make wine,
jelly, jam, or an equally virtuous syrup for treating
whatever manifestation of winter-woe has befallen you.
The berries, taken in some hot preparation are mildly
diaphoretic, but not nearly so much as the blossoms,
though they as well are an excellent aid in combating
illness. Elderberry preparations mildly stimulate
immune activity, and also directly inhibit the influenza
virus by inhibiting the virus's ability to invade
healthy cells and multiply there. Because of this,
elderberry is revered as an "antiviral", though we
should remember that elder flower also acts to support
the body's immune responses to viral infections, and
remember that "antiviral" doesn't mean "kills all
viruses"... the berries inhibit viral reproduction,
which is awesome but doesn't make them an infallible
cure for any and all viruses.
Elderberry syrup has
become a staple for its use. A common recipe might go
something like this: start by mashing and simmering ripe
de-stemmed elderberries over very low heat until
they’re a slushy-mushy mess. Strain the berries through
a sieve to separate the juice from the berry mush and
seeds, then measure how much juice you have, and add
that much honey to the juice (equal parts). Some people
add two parts honey to one part juice to preserve it
longer, but that's much too sweet for my tastes.
If, though, you wanted your syrup to be shelf stable
(not needing refrigeration), two parts refined (yes,
refined) white sugar to one part juice is a minimum.
For additional flavor, you can add cinnamon, clove,
and/or ginger and a dash or two of lemon juice while
cooking the berries. Lately, I’ve taken to using native
spices, like calamus root in place of ginger, false
solomon’s seal berries (taste like anise), spicebush
(tastes kinda allspice-y), rosehips and staghorn
sumac-aide (in place of the lemon or lime juice).
Though I don’t claim it to be a “better” recipe, I love
the regional flavor that comes out of it. Paul Bergner will add
boneset tincture to his elderberry syrup. I like
to add my elderberry syrup to my
cocoa buzz… so
freakin' yum.
Because my 1:1 juice-to-honey ratio won't preserve my
syrup indefinitely and I have occasionally had it ferment on me
(mead!), I often freeze the bulk of the syrup I make and
them thaw out a smaller amount to use as needed, when
needed. You could also can the syrup, if you're a
canner, though better to can it in smaller jars, as once
they're opened, they're no longer preserved.
Alcohol can be added (shoot for 25% minimum ABV to
preserve), but it will thin out your syrup.
Many people like to make elderberry tinctures and
elixirs (which are tinctures with sugar/honey/glycerin
or some other sweetener added), and love them. I
think these an be great, but an important consideration:
some people are really sensitive to uncooked
elderberry, and can spend a day or more vomiting and/or
purging from consuming them... not only as raw berries,
but also as uncooked tinctures and elixirs, or dried
berries added to smoothies and such. No, it's
not most people, and yes drying the berries does
reduce this potential, but the potential is still there,
so be aware that
this can and does happen
if you're making products for other people that use
uncooked berries.
For antiviral use, dose elderberry preparations in
frequent spoonfuls or squirts as early as possible
in an illness... inhibiting viral reproduction works
best right away, not after they've been reproducing in
you for days. For this reason, elderberry
preparations should be on hand so you can start taking
them as soon as you feel off. Despite warnings now
found online, there is
absolutely no evidence that
elderberry (or any other herb) can stimulate a
"cytokine storm" (a potentially fatal
overreaction of the immune response). Cytokine
storms are usually an end stage phenomenon when someone
is already deathly ill, not something you're going to
trigger with early use of elderberry. Yes,
elderberry does increase some inflammatory cytokines,
but it also triggers anti-inflammatory cytokines, and
it's net effect appears to be anti-inflammatory in
nature.
Also: as elderberry
stimulates white blood cell responses to illness and
acts to inhibit viral reproduction, it makes the most
sense to take right when you feel ill. It is not
really a "strengthening immune tonic". While it
can certainly be safely taken daily, I don't think of it
as building up the resilience of your immune system in
the same way that, say, astragalus or many of the
medicinal mushrooms will.
And, importantly: elderberry is not a "better"
antiviral than elderflower, and the use of
elderberry instead of elderflower (rather than along
with elderflower teas) is probably a notable oversight
in most cases.
While the leaves, bark
and roots of elder have been used (and lauded by the
likes of Stephen Buhner, Dr. Christopher and Jethro
Kloss), they can act as cathartics and purgatives, and
may be rather harsh on the body. I don’t use them;
though some feel they are "stronger" preparations I
think "more forceful" is perhaps a better way of putting
it, and I don't think more forceful preparations and
stronger than gentler preparations. The inner bark,
though, is said to make an excellent salve for burns,
and an intriguing recipe I found in and old colonial
herbal by Sauer included the inner bark of elder and
fresh ivy leaves, infused in butter. This would be a
fun salve to make, though it would warrant an explicit
label… its not what you’d want to spread on your
toast…
But what if it’s burnt
toast?
Sorry… just couldn’t
resist.
Want to learn more about the use of elder in the
larger context of supporting immune function?
Check out my online classes on supporting holistic
immunity here:
herbcraft.podia.com
