Elderberry

Elderberry serves as an excellent wildlife hedge and screening plant, offering fast growth and multi-season interest. Its flat-topped cream flowers in early summer create stunning focal points, while dark purple-black berries provide autumn color. Perfect for cottage gardens, woodland edges, and naturalistic plantings. Tolerates wet soils and partial shade, making it ideal for difficult spots. Can be coppiced for decorative stems.

Elder flowers and berries have been used medicinally for centuries. The flowers are traditionally made into cordials and teas for treating colds, flu, and hay fever. Berries are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, commonly prepared as syrups for immune support. Fresh leaves were historically used as insect repellent. Note: raw berries, bark, and leaves contain cyanogenic glycosides and should not be consumed without proper preparation.

Elderflowers make delightful cordials, champagne, and fritters when dipped in batter and fried. The berries must be cooked before consumption and create excellent jams, jellies, wines, and syrups. Their tart flavor pairs wonderfully with apples in pies and crumbles. Flowers can be used to flavor vinegars and add muscat notes to gooseberry dishes. Both flowers and berries freeze well for year-round use.

Elderberry is a wildlife magnet, supporting over 40 species of birds that feast on its berries. The flowers attract numerous pollinators including bees, hoverflies, and beetles. Moths feed on the foliage, while the hollow stems provide nesting sites for solitary bees. Dense growth offers shelter for small mammals and nesting birds. Its ability to thrive in disturbed ground makes it a pioneer species in woodland succession.

Deciduous shrub or small tree reaching 6-10m tall. Opposite, pinnate leaves with 5-7 serrated leaflets emit an unpleasant smell when crushed. Young stems are green with prominent lenticels, older bark is grey-brown and furrowed. Flat-topped clusters (corymbs) of cream-white flowers appear May-June, each flower 5-petaled. Berries ripen August-September, turning from red to purple-black. Pith in young stems is white and soft.

Elder wood is not suitable for construction timber due to its small diameter, irregular growth, and weak structure. However, the hard, white wood has traditionally been used for small turned items, pegs, and musical instruments. The hollow stems make natural tubes for bellows and pipes. Fresh branches were historically placed in buildings to repel flies and mice, though this use is more folkloric than practical.

Elder features prominently in European folklore, believed to be inhabited by the Elder Mother spirit who must be asked permission before cutting. Judas supposedly hanged himself from an elder tree. The name derives from Anglo-Saxon 'aeld' meaning fire, as hollow stems were used as bellows. Harry Potter's most powerful wand was made of elder wood. Medieval texts claimed sleeping under elder would give vivid dreams.