Elder (black elder)
Sambucus nigra
Botanical family: Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae)
Sambucus nigra, a common shrub or small tree of Europe's hedges and edges, offers in June wide umbels of fragrant white flowers, followed at the end of summer by clusters of black berries. The flowers are traditionally used in an infusion or syrup, and the berries, only cooked, in jam or juice.
Sun to partial shade
Rich, moist, tolerates heavy soils
Regular the first year, then undemanding
Very hardy (withstands -20 °C)
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A fast-growing pioneer shrub, the black elder forms an excellent shelter for birds and a food reserve for wildlife in autumn. Its umbel flowers feed bees, hoverflies, and butterflies in early summer, and its presence in an edge or a free hedge makes it a precious piece of the garden's biodiversity.
Insects attracted or useful
Known pests & diseases
Pests and diseases that commonly affect this plant, tap to learn how to recognise and manage them.
Documented synergies
Relationships backed by a named source, with their real scope. A synergy without a named reference has no place here, no “it is said that…”.
An elegant mechanism: from spring, the elder hosts its own aphid (Aphis sambuci), which does NOT attack the kitchen-garden crops. This bounty of prey, plus the pollen of the umbels for the adults, sustains hoverflies whose larvae devour aphids. It's a documented reservoir of beneficials; however, the study does not measure any reduction in damage on neighbouring crops, the hoverflies' move to the kitchen garden remains to be demonstrated.
scientific study
- · Wojciechowicz-Żytko E. & Jankowska B. (2016), Folia Horticulturae 28(2):209-216, DOI 10.1515/fhort-2016-0025
Its black berries, rich in pulp, are among the wild fruits most sought by Europe's birds in autumn: they feed on it, it seeds itself through them. A flip side: this efficient dispersal also makes the elder a shrub that self-seeds abundantly and can become invasive on rich soils, a service for biodiversity, a watchpoint for the gardener.
institutional source
- · Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI), Sambucus nigra, species account
- · Snow B. & Snow D. (1988), Birds and Berries, T. & A.D. Poyser (a reference work on frugivory)
Seasons & availability
Increased by cuttings or its own suckers, elder is gathered twice over: the flowers in May and June, then the black berries, to be eaten cooked only, in August and September.
Available: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- Plants For A Future, « Sambucus nigra » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sambucus+nigra)
- Woodland Trust, « Elder (Sambucus nigra) » (woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/elder)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
The raw berries, as well as the leaves, bark, and seeds, contain compounds (cyanogenic glycosides, sambunigrin) and are toxic: they cause nausea and digestive disorders. Only eat the well-ripe and cooked berries (prolonged cooking is necessary), never raw or in large quantity. Beware of confusion with dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulus) and red elder, whose fruits are emetic and toxic. For any prolonged medicinal use, of the flowers as of the fruit, seek the advice of a health professional. Sources: ANSES, opinion on elderberries; French Pharmacopoeia, list A of traditionally used medicinal plants (flower and fruit).
In the kitchen & the apothecary
Where to find elder (black elder) in preparations: recipes and traditional herbal teas.
Recipes
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Germanic and Scandinavian traditions · Northern Europe, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century
In Germanic folklore, the elder (Holunder) is the tree of Frau Holle (or Holda), an ancient figure half-goddess, half-witch, who watches over women, births, and deaths. Before cutting a branch, one asked her permission: 'Frau Holle, give me a little of your wood, and I will give you mine in return'. The elder wood was never burned in the hearth: it would have insulted its owner. The elder remains, in folk medicine, the tree of the changing seasons, flowers at the start of summer, berries in autumn, bark through winter.
Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie (Mythologie allemande, 1835), chapitres sur Holda et les esprits des arbres ; traditions documentées par les folkloristes germaniques du XIXᵉ siècle.
Before you forage
This plant is often gathered from the wild. Only pick what is abundant, never a protected species, and never uproot a whole plant (roots) without the landowner's permission. Rules vary by country and region, check locally.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers sun to partial shade exposure.
- • Ideal soil: rich, moist, tolerates heavy soils.