Elderberry

Sambucus nigra is a fast-growing shrub or small tree, often 3 to 6 meters tall, with opposite compound leaves, flat clusters of creamy, fragrant flowers in early summer and drooping clusters of shiny, blue-black berries in late summer. Each berry, only about 5 to 6 millimeters across, holds two to four tiny, flattened, pale brown seeds with a roughly textured surface. The seeds are bitter and hard, and in traditional recipes they are strained from juice and syrup. Dried berries with their seeds are also sold for teas and extracts. Elderberries themselves are tart and winey when cooked, with an earthy depth, and are rarely eaten raw.

Sambucus nigra is native to much of Europe, western Asia and North Africa, and it grows in hedgerows, woodland edges and waste ground. Related North American elders such as Sambucus canadensis are used in similar ways. The common name elder comes from Old English aeldrae or ellaern, probably related to words meaning fire or kindle, perhaps because the hollow stems were used as blowpipes to rekindle fires. The genus name Sambucus is Latin and is linked by some writers to a musical instrument, the sambuca, which may have been made of elder wood.

Elder has been valued in Europe since prehistoric times: elderberry seeds have been found in Neolithic sites, and Greek and Roman writers such as Hippocrates and Pliny mention its medicinal and practical uses. In folklore across northern Europe the tree was surrounded by taboos and protective beliefs, being associated with guardian spirits and the Elder Mother, and cutting it required permission in some traditions.

In medieval and early modern times, flowers and berries were used for wines, cordials and home remedies, and elder wine and syrup became a countryside tradition in Britain and Germany. Hollow stems made pipes, toys and tools. Early settlers took related practices to North America, where native elders were already used by Indigenous peoples.

Interest in elderberry as a health product grew in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and syrup and gummies are now common supplements. Seeds themselves are a minor part of this story: they are mostly removed in processing, and some modern producers extract oil from the seeds for use in cosmetics and research. The plant remains a familiar sight in hedgerows and in gardens grown for flowers and fruit.

The main use of the berries is in cooked products: syrup, jelly, jam, pie filling, wine and cordial, in which seeds are strained out or softened by long cooking. Elderflowers are used separately for cordial and fritters. Dried berries are steeped in teas. Seed oil has been explored by cosmetic and nutritional companies. Traditionally, the berries and flowers were taken as home remedies for colds. The wood is hard and was used for combs, pegs and pipes. Never eat raw seeds or raw unripe berries, and always use only fully ripe, cooked fruit.

Elderberries are rich in anthocyanins and other polyphenols. Small clinical trials suggest elderberry extract might shorten the duration of cold or influenza symptoms, but studies are limited by size and quality, and the results are not conclusive. Cooking is necessary to make the fruit safe. Seeds contribute fiber and oil but have not been studied separately in human trials. Elderberry products should not replace vaccination or medical care.