Showing posts with label Blue Elderberry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blue Elderberry. Show all posts

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Soil Building and Medicinal Plant - Blue Elderberry

By Liliana Usvat

What are some Soil Building plants?


Blue Elderberry  - (Sambucus caerulea)

Sambucus cerulea, common name blue elderberry or blue elder, is a coarse shrub species of elder in the family Adoxaceae.

Used often in revegetation projects for its wildlife and habitat value, Blue Elderberry is protected in California.

Blue Elderberry tolerates many types of soil conditions and is relatively easy to grow. Plants in full sun produce more flowers and berries than those in shady conditions. It is drought tolerant, but holds its leaves longer and looks better with moderate summer irrigation.  

Wild looking in its natural state, the Blue Elderberry is a fastgrowing, multi-trunked large shrub or small tree that with pruning can be trained into a more garden-appropriate plant.

The white or creamy coloured flowers, occurring May to June, are numerous and form a flat-topped cluster usually about 5–20 cm (2–8 in) wide. They are umbel-shaped, normally with 4 to 5 rays extending from the base. The flowers have a strong, odor. Individual flowers are 4–7 mm wide.



The fruits given are berry-like drupes. They are juicy, round, and approximately 4–6 mm in diameter. They are bluish-black appearing as a pale powdery blue colour. Each fruit contains 3 to 5 small seed-like stones, each enclosing a single seed. 

Habitat preferences

Prefers sunny, forest-edge location and moist soils. Blue elderberry is common along stream banks, river banks, and open places in riparian areas lower than < 3000 m.

 Adaptation
 
Blue elderberry prefers a sunny location along the forest edge. It thrives on moist soils, including those that flood. 


The Mikasukis Indians considered elderberries a scarcity food only.

Young elderberry shoots may be cooked like asparagus and eaten.



Elderberries are nutritious, are packed with antioxidants, and have more Vitamin C than oranges or tomatoes. They also have Vitamin A, calcium, thiamine, niacin, twice the calories of cranberries and three times the protein of blueberries.

Europe Elderberry wood was used for making musical instruments.

Medicinal Uses:
Elderberry has been a folk remedy for centuries in North America, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It was widely employed as a medicinal herb by many native North American tribes who used it to treat a wide range of complaints. It is still commonly used as a domestic remedy.

  •  The bark may be given for epilepsy, 
  • a strong purgative and in large doses has emetic action, 
  • as an early diuretic for renal and heart conditions
  • An emollient ointment from the inner green bark and
  •  a homeopathic tincture made from the fresh inner bark relieves asthma complaints and may assist with croup.
  •  A tea made from the inner bark and root bark is diuretic
  • emetic and 
  • a strong laxative. 
  • A tea made from the root bark is used to promote labor in childbirth and 
  • in treating headaches, 
  • kidney problems and 
  • mucous congestion
  • The inner bark is also applied as a poultice to cuts, sore or swollen limbs etc 
  • in order to relieve pain and swelling.
 
 
  • A poultice of the leaves is applied to bruises and to cuts in order to stop bleeding. 
  • An infusion of the leaf buds is strongly purgative
  • Elder flowers are stimulant, diaphoretic and diuretic.
  •  A warm tea of the flowers is stimulant and induces sweating, taken cold it is diuretic
  • It is used in the treatment of fevers and infant colic.
  • An infusion of the leaves and flowers is used as an antiseptic wash for skin problems, wounds etc.
  • Elder flowers and peppermint have been used together to induce sweating of toxins from the body, preventing pneumonia in soldiers on the battlefields. This method is still used today by herbalists, and other combinations include elder and yarrow, or hyssop, or boneset in cases of influensa. 
  • Tea from elder flowers is often taken as a spring medicinal for purification of the blood.
  • Formentations made from the flowers help with pain and inflammation, 
  • as well as headaches from colds
  • Elder flower vinegar is an old remedy for sore throat. 
 
 
  • Berries have aperient, diuretic and emetic properties and 
  • the juice of the berries has been used successfully to treat rheumatism and syphilis. 
  • Elderberry wine taken at night will produce perspiration and clear out toxins and will assist in ailments with mucous build-up, like early colds, coughs, and sore throats, as well as asthma
  • The fresh juice of the fruit, evaporated into a syrup, is laxative.
  •  It also makes a good ointment for treating burns when mixed with an oily base
  • The dried fruit can be made into a tea that is useful in the treatment of cholera and diarrhea. 
  • Roots of elderberry may treat lymphatic and kidney ailments.
Other Uses:
 
  • The elderberry shrub may yield green, violet and black dyes
  • A decoction of the leaves, when watered on plants, repels caterpillars. 
  • The dried flower stems repel insects and rodents. 
  • Bruised leaves yield a juice that drives away flies and aphids.
 
 Edible Uses
 
The fruits of blue elderberry are edible raw, cooked or used in preserves. This is the most well-tasting of the North American elders, even though it is full of small seeds. The berries are rather sweet and juicy. They can however cause nausea if eaten raw, but ripe berries are edible when cooked. 


Berries can be used in portlike wine, jams, and pies. They should always be cooked and are used primarily in wines and syrups. The fruit is usually dried before being used. Some caution is advised, see the notes below on toxicity. 

The flowers are edible raw or cooked, and are said to be pleasant and refreshing raw. A pleasant tea can be made from the dried flowers. 

Caution:

The leaves, green fruits and stems of members of this genus are poisonous. The stems, bark, leaves and roots contain cyanide-producing glycosides, and are therefore poisonous, especially when fresh. The fruit of this species has been known to cause stomach upsets. Any toxin the fruit might contain is considered to be of low toxicity and is destroyed when the fruit is cooked.


Elderberry Jelly

The most common use of elderberries is for jelly-making. Their juice produces a clear, ruby-red jewel-like delicacy with a sparkling flavor to match.
3 pounds elderberries
juice of 1 lemon
1 box fruit pectin
4 1/2 cups sugar
 

Heat the berries over a low fire until the juice starts to flow and then simmer the fruit for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid through a double layer of cheesecloth (easier if you cook the fruit in the evening and let it drain overnight). Mix the elderberry and lemon juices along with just enough water to make three cups of fluid. Add the pectin, bring the mixture to a boil and stir in the sugar. Bring the jelly to a full boil again for one minute, pour it into sterilized glasses and cover the jars with paraffin.
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