Elderberry: Why is this plant so popular? I'll tell you.
About Elder
Elder is one of the plants that, even for those that don't know much about herbs, most people have likely heard of. The berries are made into jams, jellies, and syrups. The flowers are made into a famous and yummy liquor called St. Germaine. Commonly grown commercially and harvested from the wild in much of Eastern Europe, the United States imports thousands of pounds of dried flowers and berries every year. And when the pandemic struck, people were flocking to their local health food store and buying up every last bottle of virus fighting extract, leading to a worldwide shortage 2 years in a row.
But here's the crazy part: this is a plant that grows all around us. If you live the temperate United states, you likely have a native variety of Sambucus growing near you. This plant is abundant in the wild and very easy to propagate and grow. If you have room for a medium (10-15 feet tall) shrub in your yard, Elderberry is a fast growing. generous and habitat promoting addition to your landscape. The flowers, leaves, and fruit are all used medicinally, with the flowers and fruits most commonly used by cooks and herbalists in the United States.
Elderflower offers aromatic and fever promoting qualities to help stimulate the immune response in the early stages of illness. This and other herbs, called diaphoretics in herbal and medical language, stimulate an immune response by turning up the body's thermostat to encourage fever. This higher temperature leads to increased metabolic response, mobilizing white blood cells and assisting in elimination of the waste products created by this additional cellular activity.
Elderberries are LOADED with anthocyanins, quercetin, polyphenols, and vitamins. The deeply rich, almost purple black color of the juice obtained from the gently simmered berries has been demonstrated to have potent medicinal properties. It is then no surprise that it seems to help assist our bodies when presented with infections, particularly those of a viral nature (such as cold or flu). Taking Elderberry in the form of tea, tincture, glycerite, or syrup have been demonstrated to shorten the duration of the illness. However, it is thought that the best use of this plant is as preventative. Take daily during the worst part of the cold and flu season to help your body remain on alert and ready to eliminate any potential invader.
Preparing Elder
Perhaps most popularly known as the base herb in the delicious liquor St. Germaine, Elderflowers are made by many adventurous gardeners, foragers and cooks into Elderflower Cordial. It will be a few months before the fresh flowers are available for harvesting but a wonderful recipe for this delicate, aromatic and lemon infused liquor can be found here. But once the berries come into season, we love to make tincture, glycerite and our favorite immune supporting Elderberry Elixir. In order to decrease some of the mildly toxic compounds that naturally occur in the plant, the berries are best cooked. So, we harvest and freeze or dry our berries to be used later in making a decoction under a low simmer. This gentle heat neutralizes the unwanted chemicals and concentrates the desired ones.
It is for all of these reasons and more that over the next few days I will be taking cuttings from our shrubs in order to plant lots more this year! If you have a neighbor with a nice healthy elderberry shrub, ask if they wouldn't mind if you took a cutting. One small branch can yield 5 or more plants. I offered a tutorial some years back that you can find here. Meanwhile, I hope that you find as much joy as I do in the first stirrings of what feels like spring.