Herbal Profile: Elderberry

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is one of the first herbal remedies I got to know and gained confidence using. Elder has been used as a medicinal and culinary herb for thousands of years on every continent. You can use the bark, leaves, flowers and berries in a variety of ways. The berry is the use we will focus on today as it is the easiest one to become comfortable using. The berries are a deep blackish purple and can be sourced in the wild, from health food stores, and online.

Plant Identification Basics:

Elder is a shrub that grows on the forest edge and often along waterways. The bark is a smooth gray color with warty bumps along it, although younger elder plants may have green bark with the same warty bumps. The leaves are pinnately compound with typically 5-11 leaflets. In the spring and summer the flowers emerge as creamy white clusters in a cyme shape (not to be confused with the umbel shape of many Apiaceae Family). Late summer and early fall you will find the berries, they are ready for harvest when they have reached a deep purple black color.

Culinary Uses:

As with many wild berries the culinary uses for Elderberry seem endless and delicious. They can be made into syrups and jams or jellies. They can be baked into pies, breads, muffins and other baked goods. They also can be used to make a delicious (and medicinal) mead. It should be noted that eating raw Elderberries often causes intense gastrointestinal distress, it is best to only eat berries that are cooked or dried. Syrups and herbal teas are my personal favorite uses for Elderberries.

Household Uses:

Elderberries dark and beautiful color means that the berries make wonderful dyes and ink. The wood has long been used to make wands, utensils, and other beautiful woodwork. The flowers are a soft and airy addition to any floral arraignment.

Medicinal Uses:

It would almost be faster to discuss the things Elder does not do in the body, the uses are many and marvelous. As noted above, you can use many parts of the plant and while they all have similar uses there are some variations. I will be focusing on the use for the berries.

The first thing that comes to mind with Elderberry is its long use as a treatment and defense during cold and flu season. This is because Elder is antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, chock full of antioxidants, and anticatarrhal (helps you expel mucus). Elderberries are astringent (they tighten tissue) and they help you break a fever, all while being a relaxing nervine (calms the nervous system).

As a tonic Elderberry can help stimulate and enhance the immune system, support the cardiovascular system, ease musculoskeletal pain and act as a diuretic to prevent water retention.

Magickal Uses:

Elder is a cool and drying plant energetically, associated with the element of water and the planet Venus. Elder is useful in magickal workings to gain wisdom, protection and boundary setting. Carrying Elder or placing in above the entryways to your house can ward off attacks of all kinds and thwart evil intentions. The wood has long been used to create wands due to the belief that spirits inhabit the wood of the plant. Elder is also useful when trying to call forth spirits.

Be sure you check back for our next Herbal Profile. Get out there, get wild, be safe, and spend some time connecting with Elderberry this month!