"Latin Name: Sambucus nigra L.
Synonyms: Black Elder, European Elder. German: Holunder.

Description:
A member of the Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family, the elder is a familiar shrubby tree with stiff pithy stems and smoothsegmented and toothed leaves. In spring, the well-known inflorescences of small, white, strongly perfumed flowers appear; there are minute bracts, 5-toothed sepals, corolla with short tube, 5 stamens. Fruit: A berry with 8 small seeds. The whole plant has a strong smell.

Habitat:
Along hedgerows, in woods, coppices and waste places throughout England, Ireland and the whole of central and southern Europe and North Africa. Very common.

Cultivation:
Rarely necessary, but will propagate from stem cuttings taken in late autumn and will flourish in virtually every soil in a sunny position. Most elder in this country were originally planted.

Parts Used:
The flowers, also to varying degrees the berries, leaves, inner bark and buds.

Harvesting Time:
The buds and flowers in spring, the berries in autumn, the bark in early spring before the leaves appear, the leaves themselves in May.

Drying and Preparation:
The flowers should be collected carefully as they discolour quickly. It is best to cut the whole inflorescence off the tree. These may be dried in the usual way with care being taken not to raise the temperature above 35° C. Also freezing the flowers is worth trying; alternatively, they may be steeped in five times their weight of a bland white wine for a fortnight and the resulting fluid used (actually making elderflower wine is likely to bring about significant changes in some of the plant components during fermentation). It is also possible to make syrup by infusing the flowers in a concentrated sugar solution. The berries may be preserved in a syrup, by boiling them in a little water for a few minutes, pressing the juice out and then adding sugar. The inner bark is obtained by lightly scraping off the outer bark of the stem to expose the bright green surface; this in turn is scraped off into a container and used fresh (a large quantity of wood is required to obtain any useful amount). The leaves are collected and dried in the usual way

Constituents:
Volatile oil (in the flowers); flavonoids (including rutin) and vitamin C; tannins; mucilage; vitamin A.

Applications:
Apart perhaps from chamomile, there is no plant that has been more revered in European history than the elder for its medicinal properties. It was considered lucky to plant them, unlucky to root the out, and they were treated with respect amounting to honour by many country peoples. Almost all parts of the plant could be used for therapeutic means and great and complex recipes were available for extracting and using the virtues of the plant. However, we will be referring to the flowers as our main form of treatment. In the ancient tradition, elder was considered "hot and dry" and this description could usefully be borne in mind when its properties are discussed.

• Diaphoretic:There is no doubt that taking a hot infusion (preferably very hot in this case) will produce a profusion of sweat comparable to any other remedy in this class. The volatile oil is probably a major factor in this production and so it would be to our advantage to use a fresh flower extract, though results can be achieved with the dried flowers. This activity makes elder flowers useful for feverish conditions, particularly chronic miserable infections that linger on.
• Expectorant and Anticatarrhal: elderflowers seem to have a particular ability to resolve problems affecting the respiratory system, having expectorant action "drawing phlegm forth" and thus relieving congestive conditions of the lungs, and also having a direct action on one or other of the mechanisms involved in the production of mucus so that excess catarrh is checked. Thus, it finds use in bronchial conditions, where it is a most effective remedy, and when its diaphoretic actions are taken into account, it can easily be seen why it is such an ideal remedy for influenza and colds, and why it is so useful in pneumonia and related problems (provided, of course, that all else that is necessary is being done). Its anticatarrhal effects also give the remedy application for sinus and earache problems, and as catarrhal damage to the mucosal membrane is a factor in its sensitivity to allergens it is understandable why elderflowers have been recommended for hayfever and asthmatic conditions. The activity of elder in the upper respiratory system is broadened by the following further action:
• Anti-inflammatory: the traditional English use of elder revolved much around its ability to subdue inflammations, ulcers, burns and other injuries, usually used locally at the site of the trouble. In general, berries, leaves, buds or bark were used for this purpose, but the flowers were also credited with similar activity, and were said to be preferred for the task in France. In the context of the previous paragraphs, note may be taken that the plant was recommended for affectations of the mouth and surroundings such as pharyngitis, tonsillitus and stomatitus (mount ulcers). It also found use as an eye wash in cases of conjunctivitus and as a local treatment for chilblains and skin eruptions
• Diuretic: the description of elder as "dry" referred partly to its observed effects in relieving apparently oedematous conditions. It was widely used for "dropsy," for example, and although we now know that this is a problem of the heart rather than the kidney it is still a fact that the excess water accumulated behind the failing heart can be partly removed by stimulating the kidneys to excrete more, in other words, by giving a diuretic. Various other parts of the elder seem to have accomplished this function quite satisfactorily, and their diuretic action was reinforced by their usefulness in cases of kidney stones where this action is most beneficial. Diuretic activity could also help to explain the activity of elder in helping rheumatic, arthritic and gouty conditions. It must be said, however, that it is the leaves, bark, berries and root that have been most used for this action.
• Laxative: the berries and bark especially, but the flowers also, have a long-established effect in regulating bowel activity, moderating extremes of diarrhoea and yet encouraging a substantial movement if that is what is needed.

Toxicity:
There is no likelihood of any harm being done by the use of elder in any dose short of the absurd. It is a safe, gentle, supportive remedy.

Dosage:
This is not critical, but approximately 30gms of flowers and berries, and about 8g of bark, to 1/2 litre of water; one wineglass to be taken three times per day is usually satisfactory, though good results are often obtained with smaller quantities.

Summary:
Elder is undoubtedly a valuable remedy to have on hand. One can think of it as being principally useful for feverish conditions, when it is considered to induce a cooling, cleansing sweat, but particularly where this febrile or sub-febrile state is associated with respiratory troubles. Over-production of mucus, or catarrh, and the congestive lung or bronchial conditions that often arise from this, are amenable to elderflowers’ actions, and if this congestion or catarrh becomes infected leading to inflammation or fever, the plant’s advantages become even more obvious. Not only does it reduce the fever directly, but the diuretic and laxative effects of the remedy underline its cleansing benefits in general. In other words, the elder can be considered a decongestant, improving not only congestion of the lungs and mucous membranes, but also being useful generally; hence its reputation in arthritic and similar conditions.

Another factor to have in mind is that elderflowers at least have a relaxing effect on the body. They are effective, therefore, when there is agitation and restlessness, as is so often the case, and they will help to induce a healing rest when the body has been racked by the rigours of the illness. Dry hacking coughs will be rendered more productive and thus less frequent and distressing, high body temperature will be moderated and the pulse will slow down accordingly, and there is on top of all this a direct effect on the nervous system inducing relaxation of all visceral functions. The sufferer is most grateful for this combination of actions.

Elderflowers combine well with yarrow if it is considered a good idea to do so, and they combine particularly well with peppermint leaves in the proportion of two parts of elderflower to one of peppermint for colds and chesty conditions; the combination seems to have a heightened anticatarrhal effect particularly. For common colds a sound combination is with hyssop in the proportion of one to one; a particularly useful combination is elderflower, yarrow and peppermint in equal parts."
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