Elder
Sambucus nigra
Caprifoliaceae
Pipe tree, bour tree
I love to harvest herbs, especially elderflower and elderberries. They are on my harvest list every year. I harvest the flowers around June and I harvest the berries around the end of August beginning of September. I tincture the flowers and I make syrups, teas and elixirs out of the berries. In my family when the cold, flu or sinus issues start, we pull out the bottle of elderberry syrup.
It is known as the medicine chest of country people and virtually every part of the elder has its use. Syrup is made from the berries and is an excellent cordial for colds.
Elder is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word for fire. It is said that the young branches were hollowed out to make primitive form of bellows.
What is a Bellows:
http://www.victorianweb.org/technology/domestic/cooking.html
They also served as whistles, children's blowpipes and find-grained combs
Elderflower:
The flowers promote sweating (therefore they reduce fevers) and are a traditional home remedy for colds and the early stages of influenza. The are used in catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, such as hayfever and sinusitis. Composition Essence, a herbal cold cure is based on elderflower and peppermint.
In the kitchen elderflowers make an excellent sparkling wine, and sweet elder-flower fritters.
Elderflower water is a skin tonic of long standing, while more recently the flower have found their way into cosmetic eye gels for eye wrinkles.
Elderberry
They have similar properties to the flowers with the additional usefulness in rheumatism. Immune enhancing properties.
Elder Leaves:
Leaves are used for bruises, sprains, wounds and chilblains(a painful, itching swelling on the skin, typically on a hand or foot, caused by poor circulation in the skin when exposed to cold). Some make an ointment out of elder leaf for tumors.
CAUTION; Fresh leaves, stems and unripe berries are toxic.
Bark:
Purgative
Emetic
Diuretic
External Leaves (read caution): externally as emollient and vulnerary -
Vulnerary
Internal Leave (read caution):
Purgative
Expectorant
Diuretic
Diaphoretic
Flowers:
Diaphoretic
anticatarrhal
Antispasmodic
Berries:
Diaphoretic
Diuretic
Laxative
Catnip-Elder Fever-Reducing Tea By Rosemary Gladstar
Traditional formula for childhood ills that involve fever and stress.
For more information check out Rosemary Gladstars book:
herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health
2 parts catnip
2 parts elderflowers
1 part Echinacea root
1 part peppermint
Mix the herbs and store in a jar. Label. To make tea pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 teaspoon of the mixture and steep for 1 hour and strain.
Administer every 30 minutes.
Adults 1 cup
Younger than 2 years 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
2 to 4 years 2 teaspoons
4 to 7 years 1 tablespoon
7 to 11 years 2 tablespoons
Catnip is an excellent calming herb for adults and children and is used for all manners of stress. It is beneficial for lowering fevers and for pain of teething or toothaches. A restorative digestive aid used for indigestion, diarrhea and colic.
Echinacea Root:
antimicrobial,
immunomodulator,
anticarrhal
alterative.
Immune system booster, it works by increasing macrophage t-cell activity, boosts the body's first line of defense against colds, flu, and many other illnesses.
Fever Reducing Tea:
This pleasant soothing tea will induce a gentle perspiration, thus helping to reduce a fever.
1 part yarrow
1 part elderflower
1 part peppermint
Mix the herbs and store in a jar. Label. To make tea pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tablespoon of the mixture and steep for 20 minutes and strain. Sweeten with honey and fresh squeezed lemon.
Yarrow: is a standard remedy for aiding the body to deal with fevers. Can help reduce blood pressure (with a good diet), stimulates digestion and tones the blood vessels. Great for healing wounds and can stop bleeding internal and external. It is effective for menstrual and stomach cramps. Used in formulas for stomach flu. .
Diaphoretic
Hypotensive
Astringent
Anti-inflammatory
Diuretic
Antimicrobial
Bitter
hepatic
Elderberry Syrup Recipes:
Ingredients:
Make:
http://whisperingearth.co.uk/2010/09/12/elderberry-recipes-for-health-and-for-pleasure/
Nutritive Heart Tonic Tincture
2 parts dried elderberry
2 parts linden flower and leaf
2 parts dried rosehips
1 part dried blueberry
1 part hawthorn, leaf, flower and berry
80 proof alcohol or apple cider vinegar
Linden leaf and flower: calms nerves, expectorant, relaxes spasms, improves digestion, mucilaginous herb, internally for hypertension, hardening of the arteries, cardiovascular complaints associated with anxiety, urinary infections, feverish colds and flus, excess respiratory mucus, migraine and headaches
Rosehips: contain more vitamin C almost more than any other herb and many times the amount found in the citrus fruit. Antioxidant with disease fighting abilities
Hawthorn: Supreme herb for the heart, tones nourishes and strengthens the heart muscle and its blood vessels, lowers blood pressure and also helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Mullein: cough formulas respiratory infections, bronchial infections, asthma and glandular imbalances.
Elderberry Immune Elixir
Quantities are for a quart jar, and using dried ingredients. If you use fresh, reduce the volume by half please.
1 cup dried elderberries.
1/2 cup dried elderflowers.
1/4 cup dried mullein leaf
1/4 cup dried boneset
1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
peel of 1/2 lemon
Alcohol of your choice- I love brandy, but you can use vodka, whisky, tequila, everclear or gin too.
Honey. Raw and local if possible, but whatever you have works.
Put all the ingredients in the jar, then fill a third of the way with honey. This will take a while as the honey is thick. Don’t worry, just pour it, and come back every 20 minutes to re-pour until its a third of the way up. . After the honey’s in the jar, top it up with your alcohol. : LABEL IT: .” Give it a good shake, and leave it somewhere prominent that you can shake it once a day or so. After six weeks, its ready. Strain Its shelf-stable for a couple of years.
Dosage: upon first sign of getting sick, start taking about a quarter teaspoon every couple of hours. Take it until all signs of sickness are gone. If you do actually get sick (which is rare but with these bugs going around right now, its happening), keep taking it. As often as you can muster.
Boneset: (aka break bone fever), a bitter astringent herb that lowers fevers, relieves bronchial congestion and constipation also stimulates the immune system.
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