American Elder (Sambucus Nigra spp canadensis)
The Elder plant is native to much of the world, including North America, and is a cross-cultural plant, enshrined in mystery, lore, and healing traditions worldwide for millennia. Western herbalists consider Elder an entire herbal apothecary in one plant. Many herbal traditions: Indigenous North American, Latin American, European and Chinese, use the flowers and berries as potent respiratory support for colds and flus.
The beautiful flowers, Elderflowers, grace our farms in the late spring. Elderflowers have been used since Egyptian times for skincare products. At our farms we have made an oil with the dried flowers for use in our Flower Power Body butter skincare. Elderflowers can be found now on store shelves in popular teas and cordials. We make an Elderflower cordial from an old European recipe, harvesting some of our flowers, using a bit of lemon and our own honey.
Elderberries ripen to purple in late summer and are high in antioxidants. Elderberries are known world-wide as a potent antiviral remedy with a significant amount of scientific research demonstrating their ability to shorten the duration of a cold or flu. For millennia and across cultures, ripe berries are prepared as food and medicine. Berries are made into syrup, wine, jam, pie, mead, honey and vinegar for enjoyment and health.
Our Elderberry Rob is an old European recipe for a syrup that also uses the berries, heating them in water along with cinnamon, cloves and ginger and adding honey after straining. A rob is a 17th century term for a syrup.
Elderflower Cordial – Cordials are an invigorating medicinal drink, especially beneficial to ones heart.
Elderflower – A powerful immune booster, elderflower has antihistaminic properties that helps relieve cold, flu, and allergy symptoms.
Elderberry – Elderberries are high in antioxidants. They are also known to have properties that support the immune system.