Elder is a deciduous shrub or tree reaching 10 metres and is native and widespread in the UK, liking fertile ground in woodland, hedgerows and waste ground. It is also known, amongst other names, as the English grape, Common Elder, Black Elder, Witch Wood, Witch's Tree and Old Mother Elder.
Belonging to the Honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. The characteristics of this family usually show with pithy stems and opposite leaves, which elder has in a pinnate structure with a terminal leaf, so they always amount to an odd number from 3–9. The leaflets are ovate and elliptic or lanceolate, measuring from 2.5–9 cm long.
In terms of the flower, 5 is the key number with the Honeysuckle family here, having 5 small sepals, 5 united petals and 5 stamens, appearing in May–July, umbel-like, up to 21 cm in diameter across the corolla.
The fruit appears between August–October, with drooping fruiting heads laden with berries measuring 6–8 mm. Be warned though, as green and unripe berries are emetic and will make you sick if you have too many. They are also purgative and diuretic, but there are other warnings to heed with elder as you read on.
There isn't much to confuse elder with really, from a distance maybe the Wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana), but it flowers earlier and has rough, oval, greyish leaves. At a squint, also Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), as it has similar flowers to Elder with a pinnate leaf structure, but they are much thinner. As always, 100% identification is key.
In terms of edible uses, I'm sure you are familiar with many uses, as they are popular on the foragers' list. Examples would be, with the flowers, they can be used to make edible fritters, champagne and wine. A great tip is to collect when the sun is on them and not just after rain, as it is the pollen which produces the aroma.
With the berries, elderberry vinaigrette is a personal favourite (recipe to follow). It also makes a good jam. Not forgetting associated fungi in the form of Jelly Ear, dehydrated and ground up to be sprinkled into stews and soups for a lovely mushroom flavour. It is also an ingredient in the drink Sambuca, taken from its scientific name.
Medicinally, the leaves act as an insect repellent, used as a wayside application by rubbing them on your arms and legs. In fact, the leaves used to be tied onto horses' harnesses and on headbands of working horses to repel flies. Dairy farmers would also grow it by the dairy shed for the same reason.
Other uses for the leaves include helping with bruises, sprains and chilblains. The flowers, employed as a hot tea, encourage sweating and promote elimination through the skin and urinary tract, so can be used to treat fevers, colds and flu, even hay fever.
And finally, the berries, containing vitamin C and A, work well as a syrup or glycerite for coughs and colds.
The other good and not so good components of Elder are cyanogenic glycosides, tannins, potassium, mucilage, phenols, flavonoids, sambucine, essential oil, rutin and anthocyanin.
An old 1600s remedy was the application of distilled water made from the flowers and used as an eye wash, which helped to remove freckles and spots and was used to cool sunburn.
In terms of useful applications around camp, the young shoots can be used as a hand drill in combination with clematis (Clematis vitalba) hearth board. Collect from inside the woodland where its growth is slower and the sidewalls of the young shoots are thicker, which improves results. (Collect ones about 10 mm across.)
Other uses include cutting small sections as beads threaded through cordage for jewellery decoration. Try staining some of them in simmered berry juice.
Now the WARNING! Toxic levels of cyanogenic glycosides (a sugar compound) reside in the leaves, twigs and fruit stems, and smaller amounts in the berries. Not harmful in its chemical structure until it mixes with saliva enzyme, which frees the cyanide from the chemical bond into your body's system.
Once released into the body, the cyanide is absorbed into the bloodstream and prevents the oxygen from being absorbed by the body from the blood. Death by asphyxiation.
The good news is heat denatures it (10 minutes simmering is usually enough).
There is a tremendous amount of folklore and country remedies surrounding the elder tree, which swings from opposites, from one belief to another. It is a tree of life, yet invites the Devil, a valued plant in the garden, yet also a Witch's tree!
Legend has it that Prometheus used the hollow stems to bring fire to man from the gods. You should only cut it in broad daylight, as to do so invites Old Nick (The Devil), and if you burnt it, he is sure to come. Others believed planting it by your house would ward him off.
The scent of the flowers was regarded as poisonous. Anybody stupid enough to sleep under one would not wake up the next morning. For the same reason, the wood was never used to make babies' cots.
If you were to cut the "Witch's Tree", you should first ask permission from the arboreal spirit, the "Elder Mother", who was believed to live in the tree. If you failed to, or cut it down completely, she would bestow great misfortune in your life, with people believing they would fall ill and die.
If an elder tree self-seeded in your garden, it meant the Elder Mother had chosen to protect your house from lightning and your cattle from harm.
The belief in the Elder Mother was so strong in Pagan belief that the Christian faith gave it the most powerful negative associations, connecting it with Judas, who hung himself from it, and Christ, crucified on a cross made from it.
OK, so I promised a recipe, so here is one for elderberry vinaigrette. This is a simple and delicious recipe which makes a perfect accompaniment to salads and game meats. The only thing you can do wrong is run out of it before the berries come out the following season to make more.
- 350 g elderberries
- 500 ml white wine vinegar
- Granulated sugar
Strip the berries from the stalks, placing them in a suitable bowl. Add the white wine vinegar and leave for 5 days, stirring once each day. Take care not to squash the berries as you do so.
After 5 days, strain the berries into a pan. Add 350 g of sugar for every 260 ml of liquid. Boil for 10 minutes, then allow to cool before pouring into sterilised bottles. Then enjoy.