| |
ELDER SAMBUCUS NIGRA
The juice of the leaves snuffed up into the nostrils, purges the
tunicles of the brain.
A common tree with spreading branches and oval, sharp-pointed leaves serrated about the
edges. The flowers grow in large flat umbels and are followed by small, round, deep purple
berries, full of juice.
Where to find it: In hedgerows and moist places.
Flowering time: Late spring. The berries are ripe in early autumn.
Astrology: It is under the dominion of Venus.
Medicinal virtues: The bark, leaves, flowers and berries all have
medicinal
properties. The first shoots to appear, boiled like Asparagus, and also the young leaves
and stalks boiled in fat broth, carry forth phlegm and choler.
The middle or inward bark boiled in water and given in drink works much more violently.
The berries, either green or, dry, expel the same humour. They are also often given with
good success to help the dropsy. The bark of the root boiled in wine, or the juice thereof
drank, is more powerful than the leaves or fruit.
The juice of the root causes vomiting and purges the watery humours of' the dropsy. A
decoction of the root mollifies the hardness of the mother, if women sit thereon, and
opens their veins and brings down their courses. The berries boiled in wine perform the
same effect. The juice of the green leaves applied to hot inflammations of the eyes
assuages them. The decoction of the berries in wine provokes urine.
The leaves or flowers distilled in the month of May and the legs washed with it takes away
ulcers and sores. The hands washed with it helps the shaking of them and the palsy.
Modern uses: A valuable remedy in modern herbal medicine. The bark, flowers and
berries are all used and are available from herbalists. The berries, rich in vitamin C,
are used to make wine or juice; either taken hot is a traditional remedy for colds.
Elderflowers mixed with Peppermint herb and made into an infusion - 1 oz (28 g) to 1
pt (568 ml) of water - is taken in doses Of 2 fl Oz (56 ml) for 'flu.
Elderflower water, which can he made by adding eight drops of the essential oil to 1 Pt
(568 ml) of distilled water, is used in eye and skin lotions. It keeps the complexion
clear of freckles and other blemishes.
The leaves are used to make a soothing ointment. They are combined in equal parts With red
Poppy flowers and 6 oz (17o g) of this mixture is simmered in 15 fl Oz (426 ml) of
olive oil. This is then strained and 5 Oz (142 g) of melted white paraffin wax is added.
The ointment is then allowed to cool. It is suitable for bruises, sprains and chilblains.
An infusion of the bark is laxative and diuretic. It is given in small doses over a period
of time to purify the blood. |