Elderflower

The black elder (Sambucus nigra) deserves the title of the poor man's pharmacy — a plant that has accompanied humans for millennia, healing, feeding and protecting them. Its flowers, which fill the air with a sweet scent every June, are not just a raw material for delicious syrups and drinks — they are a symbol of summer abundance.

Taxonomy & Systematics

The black elder (Sambucus nigra L.) belongs to the genus Sambucus within the family Adoxaceae. The name Sambucus derives from the Greek sambuke — an ancient musical instrument made from the hollow stem of this plant. In Europe and Croatia, three species are found.

Biology & Habitat

The black elder is one of the most widespread shrubs in Europe. Its natural range covers almost all of Europe — from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, from the British Isles to western Turkey and the Caucasus.

Elder is a strongly nitrophilous plant — it loves nitrogen-rich, humus-rich soils. This is why it has been a faithful companion of humans since time immemorial: it grows along settlement edges, on ruderal habitats, along fences, in gardens, on forest edges and in hedgerows.

Elder is a fast-growing plant that can grow up to one metre per year. It lives up to 60 years and can reach 10 metres in height. Birds — especially blackbirds, thrushes and starlings — are the main dispersers of seeds over longer distances.

Elder is very widespread in Croatia. It grows in villages, around houses, along fences and hedgerows, and is equally abundant in the wild — on fields, in scrubland, in lighter woodlands, on the banks of rivers and streams, particularly on fertile, humus-rich and moist, nitrogen-rich soils. It reaches up to 1,200 m above sea level. The fragrant elderflowers contain a small quantity of essential oil and some saponins, glycosides and mucilage. They are widely used as a diaphoretic tea, and also for colds, coughs, bronchitis, and as a diuretic. They are also eaten in the form of small fritters, usually fried in butter or oil after being dipped in pancake batter. Germans prepare a refreshing sparkling drink from the flower clusters, and there are also liqueurs and wine made from elderflowers. In recent years, elderflower syrup has become particularly popular in our country; it is prepared by macerating the flowers in water for 24 hours with the addition of lemon juice, citric acid or tartaric acid. Of even greater nutritional importance are the elderberries. When ripe, birds eat them quickly and eagerly, so the harvest must not be delayed. Ripe berries have a sweet-sour taste. They contain approximately 10 mg% vitamin C, some carotene and vitamin E, and are particularly rich in vitamin B₁. In addition, the berries contain 5–6% sugar, some organic acids (malic, tartaric and valerianic), tannins, pectin, bitter substances and traces of essential oil. Raw berries are not edible, but can be processed in many ways. In Slavonia they are cooked into jam, which is also produced industrially in some countries. In England, pies and special sauces are made from them. Germans also prepare compote, fruit juice, wine, porridge and other dishes from elderberries, and their cookbooks abound with instructions and recipes for preparing various dishes from the fruits and flowers of elder. The berries are also widely used in the countries of the former Soviet Union, for the preparation of vinegar, liqueurs, and as a seasoning for certain dishes. Elder leaves are toxic due to the presence of the glycoside sambunigrin, which releases up to 10 mg% hydrocyanic acid. It is believed that unripe elderberries also contain glycosides that release hydrogen cyanide upon hydrolysis. Therefore, consumption of unripe fruits can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea; as a precaution, one should not eat raw ripe berries nor drink uncooked juice. Related to the black elder is the dwarf elder — Sambucus ebulus L. This is a shrub with an unpleasant smell and an annual hollow stem that grows up to 2 m in height. Its berries closely resemble those of the elder, but are slightly flattened at the top. The berries contain 3–4 seeds and purple juice. These fruits are toxic and have an unpleasant smell. In some places brandy is distilled from them, which is used as a remedy for dysentery. In times of famine, jam was also made from these berries. In Romania they are used to colour wine. Besides the fruits, the flowers, leaves and root of the dwarf elder are also used in folk medicine.

Morphology

Elder is a shrub or rarely a small tree with several main stems growing from the base. The bark of older branches is grey-brown, corky and deeply furrowed with longitudinal cracks. Young shoots are greenish, with clearly visible lenticels (pores for gas exchange).

The leaves are opposite, odd-pinnate, with 5 to 7 oval to elliptical leaflets with serrated margins. The leaves have an unpleasant smell when crushed — this is one of the reliable characteristics for identification.

The flowers are small, creamy white to yellowish-white, gathered in large, flat to slightly convex cymose inflorescences 10 to 30 centimetres in diameter. Each individual flower has five petals, five stamens and a pleasant, sweet scent. Flowering lasts from May to July.

After pollination, each flower develops into a small, round berry 5 to 8 millimetres in diameter. The fruits ripen from August to October, changing colour from green, through red, to dark black or dark blue. Each fruit contains 2 to 5 small seeds.

Physiology

Elder follows the annual rhythm with great precision: leaf budding begins in early spring (March–April), flowering occurs in late spring and early summer (May–July), and fruits ripen in late summer and autumn (August–October).

Elder is a heliophytic to semi-shade plant — it grows well in both full sunlight and partial shade. Thanks to its high photosynthesis rate and rapid growth, it is able to quickly colonise disturbed habitats.

Varieties & Cultivars

Willamette (locally known as Vilamet) is by far the most widely grown cultivar in the region, accounting for over 90% of Serbian production. Its dark red, aromatic fruits are excellent for processing into juice and syrup. Meeker, a cross of Willamette and Cuthbert developed in 1967, produces large, bright-red berries with outstanding flavour and high sugar content — the most prized cultivar for both fresh consumption and processing.

Health Effects

The flowers of black elder are exceptionally rich in flavonoids, particularly quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin), kaempferol and isoquercetine. These compounds act as powerful antioxidants that neutralise free radicals and protect cells from oxidative stress.

Flavonoids from elderflower inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, particularly TNF-α and interleukins. In vitro and in vivo studies show that elderflower extract reduces inflammatory markers, explaining the traditional use of elder in treating colds, flu and inflammatory respiratory conditions.

Elderberries (and to a lesser extent the flowers) contain compounds that interfere with the replication of influenza viruses. Clinical studies show that elderberry extract can shorten the duration of flu by 2 to 4 days compared to placebo.

Elderflower tea is traditionally used as a diaphoretic (promotes sweating) and expectorant (facilitates expectoration). The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the use of dried elderflowers as a traditional herbal medicine for relieving cold symptoms.

Laboratory research shows that aqueous elderflower extract has an immunomodulatory effect — it stimulates the activity of macrophages and NK cells (natural killer cells). This effect may contribute to strengthening the immune defence, particularly during the winter months.

Ethnobotany & History

Elder seeds have been found at prehistoric sites throughout Europe, testifying to the long history of use of this plant. Archaeological finds from the Stone and Bronze Ages show that people used the fruits, bark and branches of elder.

In ancient Greece and Rome, elder was a valued medicinal plant. Hippocrates (460–370 BC) paid special attention to elderberries. Dioscorides (1st century AD) recommended elderberry wine as a remedy against snake bites. Pliny the Elder describes numerous medicinal properties of elder in his Naturalis Historia.

In the Middle Ages, elder was almost ubiquitous in European herbals and monastery gardens. In the 17th century, English physician Martin Blochwich dedicated an entire book to the virtues of elder — on 230 pages he described how every part of the plant can be used in treatment, from toothache to the plague.

In Germanic and Norse mythology, elder was dedicated to the goddess Hylde Moer (Mother Elder) — an ancient vegetation goddess who ruled over the cycle of life and death. The old Germanic and Danish tradition forbade the felling of elder without first asking permission from the spirits dwelling within it.

In Croatian folk medicine and tradition, elder has always held a special place. Flowers were dried and used as tea for colds and fever. Young flowers were fried in batter as a delicacy — the so-called bazgove fritule (elderflower fritters) — a tradition preserved in some parts of Croatia to this day.