Richard Mabey has described the elder as a ‘mangy, short-lived opportunist’ and ‘foul-smelling shrub ’. Clearly beauty is in the eye of the beholder but, in my view, the sight of a elder flowering in May is a beautiful one. We can use the flowers to make elderflower champagne and elderflower fritters, and dry them to make a medicinal tea.

Elderflowers are a valuable remedy for upper respiratory infections (colds,‘flu, catarrh, sinusitis and congestion of the middle ear). They contain flavonoids, salicylate (aspirin), vitamin C and a volatile oil. They can also be beneficial in allergic conditions affecting the upper respiratory tract, such as hay fever. Barker recommends the pollen in particular for these conditions.

Later in the year the ripe fruits can be gathered. They too contain vitamin C, as well as anthocyanins, those dark pigments found in the skins of many berries and now known to have important anti-oxidant properties. A cordial made from the berries, then diluted with hot water, is a very pleasant remedy for colds and ‘flu.

Although the flowers and fruits are the most valuable, and are the only parts I have used myself, most parts of the plant have been used at some time. The leaves are not recommended for internal use but are reputed to repel insects and to heal wounds. A strong infusion can be made, to apply to the skin against mosquitoes or to crop plants to protect them from insect pests. The leaves can also be used to make an ointment to treat bruises, sprains and chilblains.

The bark (not recommended) is a strong purgative.

Mrs Grieve devotes eleven close-printed pages to the elder: its uses and the extensive folklore attached to it. She refers to a work of 1644 entitled The Anatomie of the Elder, which detailed the medicinal use of every part, even of the Jew’s ear fungus which often grows upon elder. Apparently this fungus is edible and, according to Gerard ‘taketh away inflammations of the mouth and throat’. Its name is said to be a corruption of ‘Judas’s ear’, arising from the belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder.

References

Barker, J. (2001). The Medicinal Flora of Britain and Western Europe. Winter Press.

Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal. Revised edition 1992. Tiger Books International: London.

Mabey, R (1996). Flora Britannica. Sinclair Stevenson.

 

Caroline Wheeler