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General description

Latin name: sambucus nigra
Botanical family: caprifoliaceae
Origin: Europe, North America

Elder flowers: a real treasure store for your health

The elder, a large bush attaining between 3 to 7 metres in height and with surprising longevity, is often found growing at the edge of the forest. It likes the sun and prefers to grow in cool woods, hedges and on river banks. It blooms from June to July and has white flowers with a distinctive perfume.

Already known for its therapeutic properties in ancient Greece, mythology has it that the elder’s black, globular berries were one of the foods of the gods. Galien, a Greek physician of the IInd century AD, prescribed elder for the treatment of catarrh and also for excessive mucous secretions. In North America, the Amerindians attributed the same properties to the white elder (Sambucus canadensis), whose chemical composition is similar to that of the European elder. In Quebec, the white elder is well known as a medicinal plant.

A real ‘travelling pharmacy’

Throughout Europe, its expectorant, diuretic, anti-fever and anti-inflammatory properties are well known. This commonplace and abundantly found plant has often been described as ‘a travelling pharmacy’, thanks to its countless therapeutic and prophylactic qualities. In spring, it is used to purify the body from the toxic substances it has accumulated during the winter. The elder is a plant that our grandmothers always had nearby, whether for pleasure or for therapeutic use.