{ ELDER ::: Sambuccus nigra }

{ ELDER ::: Sambuccus nigra }

How could a plant be named after the Elders and be considered anything other than important! Elderberries and flowers are both from Sambuccus nigra, a Honeysuckle that is an Oldworld European and North American primal remedy. It’s a herbal staple, like the potato or yam of food, that has supported the poor and the wealthy to health for generations.

The Elder tree pops up throughout history & myth as a gateway to the Faery world or Underworld, and sleeping under one might make things interesting as you meet the hidden folk that dwell in this magickal tree. Sambuccus refers to the Sumbuka pan pipes that can be made from this haunting wood, connecting Elders with Pan - a Greek God of the forest.

It has an incredible mythological history, but now to its medicine. Elder is sweet, sour, sedating and stimulating. Matthew Wood mentions that it “opens all the channels causing diaphoresis, emesis, purgation, diuresis, expectoration, and menstruation—also building and detoxifying the blood.” Plants don’t just do one thing!

The flowers stimulate the blood to the surface whilst cooling things down by opening up and dispersing. They are immune building, and mildly cleansing by encouraging elimination. The counter actions of stimulating and calming create a balanced effect.

The berries work similarly however they also build blood as a tonic in depleted people. Elderberry syrup is a great remedy for a sore throat or a cold, but large doses are also purgative.

The bark is mildly toxic (from cyanogens) and can cause vomiting, but it can also move lymph and get fluids flowing in the body in a helpful way. The leaves also disperse heat and have mildly antifungal actions externally.

Over all, the Elder is best suited for irritated, tense and depressed tissues to soothe, cleanse, tonify and disperse. This may present as a hyperactive child, a person with puffy, irritated red cheeks, or any tissues that are full of water, a person with a cold or flu, or also to support during a fever or build immunity during the winter.

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