Elder (Sambucus nigra)

Elder (Sambucus nigra)

Uses

Elder's many plates of fragrant white flowers are helpful for insects and cordial makers alike (try them lightly fried, too - in fact, there are lots and lots of Elder recipes), and birds and winemakers can split the berries between them. Don't eat any part of the plant raw, however - leaves, flowers and berries are poisonous. Processed, however, Elderflower cordial is also said to be a sedative, the flowers a good skin tonic, and rubbed on the skin Elder leaves work as an insect repellent. It used to be all the rage with herbalists, who recommended its use to treat all sorts of complaints, from gout to nosebleeds. John Evelyn called it “a kind of Catholicon against all infirmities whatever”. Elderberries are high in vitamin C, too, and will make a useful dye. The stems of a coppiced Elder tree are very useful around the garden - hollow and light, but surprisingly strong and reluctant to rot. "Aeld" is Anglo Saxon for fire - the idea is that folk used elder stems to blow through to get a fire going. The wood of mature trees is hard and good to carve.

Value For Wildlife

Sambucus nigra attracts a lot of wildlife including the elder aphid (and of course ladybirds), and at least a dozen moths use it as a food plant. Small mammals eat the berries and flowers, which also attract a range of pollinators.

Mythology

Elder is said to be very bad luck to bring Elder into the house and particularly to burn it, but grow it outside to block the entry of rats and the devil! Curiously, in Medieval times it was said to be the tree from which Judas hanged himself. Along with the Judas Tree ...

Our Plants For Sale

Like all our native trees, our Elders are grown in the UK from UK origin seed. We sell 2 year old 60-90cm plants in multiples of 5.

Suppliers: RV Roger, British Hardwood Trees.

See our planting and size guide for details and tips on planting Elder trees.

All these Elder trees are bare root, and are consequently available for delivery from November until March. During the lifting season there may be up to two weeks delay between placing the order and dispatching due to weather conditions or pressure of orders, which are dealt with in date sequence. Orders placed for Elder trees between March and October are confirmed for dispatch from November.