Perhaps best known for its medicinal properties that combat colds and flu the elder plant is also a tasty food source... its flowers and berries are edible.
Parts of the Elder Plant
- Flowers - Elderflowers are harvested to make teas, cordials, and glycerite. Tea can be prepared from freshly harvested flower heads in the Springtime. Or, the picked flowers can be dried and stored to make teas year round. It is best to pick the flowers on a dry sunny day, choosing the blooms that smell fresh and lemony. Hot elderflower tea promotes sweating, treats fever, colds, and flu. Cold elderflower tea treats night sweats, hot flashes, and fluid retention. Cold tea can also be used as a facial wash.
- Berries - Ripe elderberries should be harvested when they are firm, black in color, and shiney. The berries can be eaten as food, also used to make wines and jellies. They can also be made into a glycerite or syrup typically used to treat colds and flu symptoms such as cough and sore throat.
- Leaves - Leaves from the elder plant are not to be consumed, but they can be made into ointments or poultices. These salves are used to treat bruising, sprains, and chilblain.
- Stems - Flutes are made from the hollow stem of the elder plant.