Elder / Common elder / Elder bush / Elderberry

Sambucus nigra L.

DESCRIPTION

This is a deciduous bush between 4-6m high (rarely reaching 10m). Its trunk has a cork-type bark and the branches have a well-developed whitish pith. Its pinnate leaves, that are 1-3dm long, are arranged in opposite pairs with 5-7 leaflets.

Flowers are divided into large corymbs, 10-25cm in diameter, which blossom mid-summer. Individual flowers are white, measuring between 5-6mm in diameter, with 5 petals.

The ripe fruit is black in colour with a dark mauvish juice.

The plant, with origins in Europe, North-West Africa and South-West Asia, is a botanical species that grows mainly in sunny places, both in damp and dry ground. It resists heavy frosts well; -15 to -20ºC.

PART USED

The flower.

COMPOSITION

Flavonoids (rutoside, isoquercitrin, kaempferol) Essential oil (0.03-0.1%) Mucilages
Phenylcarboxy acids: caffeic, chlorogenic, p-coumarinic Triterpenic acids

Traces of sambunigrin 

PROPERTIES AND USES

ACKNOWLEDGED TRADITIONAL USE
As a diaphoretic for the treatment of colds with a high temperature. (European Commission)
COMMON USE
Laxative flavouring, hypoglycaemic.

DID YOU KNOW ?

The elder's fruit and flowers are edible. The first collection can be prepared in juices, jams, syrups, sauces, soups, etc. They must always be consumed when ripe as they are toxic when green. The flowers can be fried in breadcrumbs and eaten as if they were a sweet.