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Elderberry Sambucus a local forgotten medicinal?
As I am on my way up the mountain to collect elderberry, I notice several trees loaded with
berries bordering yards, on the roadway, and in even in a nursing home parking lot.
Elderberry used to be called "the medicine chest of the country people" but from the looks of
my country town here in Sandy, many have forgotten. I picked some Elderberries a few weeks
back for my friend Kiva. When I went to the small deserted country post office to deliver
them, the clerk was eager to make conversation. I explained to her that I was shipping my
friend some elderberries. "ewwwww where did you get them, I loved those as a child, my
thumbs would be blue and numb, my Dad would use them for wine, jelly, cough medicine- I
wouldn't know where to find any now" When I explained that they are actually quite common,
she was sure they must not be the same berry, and in fact that to be careful that they may be
poisonous. Have people gotten away from collecting their own medicinals? If there is one
"goal" I have with this blog it is to empower people to get back to the old ways- losttraditions. Of course, be sure of what you are collecting, jim has a great guide for gathering
your own herbs.
To (hopefully) get you interested in this wonderful plant, I will attempt to dredge up some
interesting facts and legends.
Around here in the Pacific Northwest we have both red and blue elderberry. Blue is the one
you want for wine (Rebecca's recipe), jelly, syrup (jim discusses it here), elixir ( Darcy's
recipe) and other medicinals (kiva's tea) , much more medicinal info can also be found on
Henriette's site. There are 3 types of blue species that inhabit the West all similar in
appearance; sambucus cerulea, S. racemosa & S. mexicana and one red fruit species S
callicarpa (pacific red elder) the red has red berries and pyramid shaped flower clusters, the
blue has blue berries and flat top flower clusters. Depending on what source you hear it from,the red can be toxic so I would stick to the blue. You can find the berries around here in the
Pacific Northwest at the end of summer into early autumn.
The name Elder comes from the anglo-saxon word "aeld" meaning fire, the association being
made because of the hollow stems were used to blow on fire (to increase flame) The name
"sambucus" is from the Greek word meaning wind instrument. Both Shepard's & Native
Americans used to make flutes from the elder branch, the tree was sometimes called "the tree
of music". The hollow reads were also used to make smoke pipes, elk whistles, pop guns, and
sprouts on maple syrup trees. Some Native American tribes used the sticks of elder for
twirling sticks (the sticks used to start a fire by friction), the straight branches were also used
for arrows. It should be noted that the leaves, bark, shoots, twigs, and roots of the fresh plant
(of either color) are toxic, and children have been poisoned by chewing or sucking on the bark.
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Legends
The Elderberry plant has held an important place in European myth. There have been opposite
stories relating to it magical & supernatural qualities. There has been an association with both
the devil and witches (the bad ugly ones lol) The wicked witches were believed to live in
elder trees, so people were afraid to cut them down. It was considered dangerous to sleep in
the shade of an elder or to plant one near a house. It was also believed if you fell asleep for too long under an elder that you would become intoxicated. Six knots of elder wood were
used in a Yorkshire incantation to ascertain if the cattle were dying from witchcraft.
In contrast, the elder was believed to be a tree of protection against evil spirits and for this
reason people would plant them near their homes. The leaves are an insect repellent and
people used to hang the branches from doors & horses bridals to keep the bugs away. Elder
was also planted near dairies to keep the milk from turning.
The fairy Folk love music and they used the wood of the elder to make all of their musical
instruments. Hilda the mother of the elves is said to live in the root of the elder, and anyone
under the elder tree at midnight on Midsummers day would see the king of the fairies and all
his retinue pass by.
In England the dwarf elder was said to spring up whenever Danish blood was shed in battle,for this reason it was called "Dane's blood"
In Tyrol elder was planted on graves, if the plant flourished with berries it is believed that the
dead person is happy in the other world after passing.
The appearance of berries on the elder would indicate it was the right time to sew the wheat in
the field.
Food Uses
As described above in some of the links I provided, elderberry is both delicious and
medicinal. In small quantities you can add it to food ( Elderberries do have hydrocyanic acid ,
in large quantities it can lead to stomach upset and diarrhea, how much I guess would depend
on the person, this can be avoided by straining out the seeds or thoroughly cooking the
berries, red elder berries have larger amounts of these compounds, which is why they are
considered "toxic" Henriette has a nice write up here). Elderberries are good with other
berries such as blueberry or raspberry, and a little honey can be added for sweetness.
Salad Dressing
Add equal parts of mashed fresh elderberries and blueberries to your favorite balsamic
vinegar, shake well.
Elderberry Iced Tea
Equal parts frozen Blueberry and Elderberry (seeds strained)
Juice of 1/2 fresh Lemon
Approx 6 heaping tablespoons Green Tea (or other favorite tea)
Boil 3 cups water in a small pan. When it reaches boil, turn off the heat and add green tea. letsteep for about 10 minutes. Strain and add to pitcher. Puree frozen berries in lemon juice, add
to pitcher. Fill with water and ice, chill. Add honey or stevia to taste. (you can also used the
dried berries and steep them like a tea, use the fresh blueberries for the puree)
Cream Cheese puree
Add elderberries ( seeds strained,to taste) to cream cheese and puree for quick sandwich
spread, to put on fruit, add nuts, other berries, the possibilities are endless! To make it
creamer add a dash of olive or flax oil, yum! You can also add
Add Elderberries to..
apple sauce
apple & rhubarb pies
muffinscottage cheese
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honey
and yogurt.
More Delicious recipes
Use your imagination!
Winter Teas
Elderberries are really fun to experiment with in different teas
Dried elderberries, & blueberries equal parts, with a little feverfew & rose hips, honey and a
squeeze of lemon for a great winter tea if you feel a cold coming on.
Also try variations with (not all actions are listed) Astragalus (adaptogen, healthy immune
function), peppermint and spearmint(digestive aid, antiseptic,analgesic, astringent, calming) ,
chamomile (anti-inflammatory, digestive aid, relaxing) , licorice (sweet, antiviral), cinnamon
(carminative, anticeptic), ginger (carminative, expectorant, antimicrobial -to name a few but
can be drying), echinacea (antiviral, antibacterial) and other dried berries such as raspberry.
Resource:Profiles of Pacific Northwest Plants by Peggy Robinson 1977
Edible and medicinal plants of the west Tilford 1997
Posted by Angie Goodloe LMT, Herbalist at 8:19 AM 13 comments
Labels: Herbs, Legends, Native American, wild foods
Friday, July 20, 2007
Wands Harry Potter Yew Vrs Holly
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Yew Taxus Brevifolia Baccata
This post is a continuing series I will be writing about in the next few weeks, Harry
Potter herbs & other Legends see Hazel
Lord Voldemort's wand is made of Yew. It is the only wand (so far) in the series made of
yew.
Yew has been associated with death in legends. The Greeks and Romans used yew as fuel for
their funeral pyres. Yew was also planted in church yards as a symbol of immortality (since it
is an evergreen) Horcrux is the receptacle in which a Dark wizard has hidden a fragment of his soul for the purposes of attaining immortality. Yew was also useful in soaking up
"poisonous vapors" escaping graves. To dream of yew meant an old person was about to die
and leave the dreamer a large sum of money.
Yew is not a food source, the needles and leaves are poisonous. Some northwest Native
American groups smoked the needles. The yew is unusual because it reproduces itself by
means of "berries" actually they are aril, not true berries. The "berries" appear on the female
plant.
Since the wood was strong according to the doctrine of signatures this strength could beimparted to humans. The Swinomish Native American tribe rubbed themselves with it to gain
strength. The Cowlitz and th Quinalult tribes made poultices of the wet needles to apply to
wounds.
The Latin name Taxus baccata means "bow yew" the very strong wood is excellent for
making bows & yew was used by ancient armies for this purpose. So did Robin Hood, who
was buried under a yew tree at his request.
Yew was one of the ingredients in witches' brew in MacBeth, and according to Pliny a natural
history wine cups made of yew were the cause of death for some ancient Romans. He also
reported the smoke from a yew tree would kill rats and mice.
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Holly Ilex aquifolium
Harry Potter's
wand is made of Holly. In N Europe holly is called "Christ's thorn" because it was supposed
to have first sprung up under Christ's footsteps as he wandered the earth. The Thorns and red
berries resembling drops of blood symbolized his sufferings.The use of holly for Christmas decorations dates back to Roman Christians, and the custom
was brought to America from England, along with the plant.
Medicinal uses:
The tea from the leaves was used in the past to treat gout, stones, rheumatism, and arthritis.
An application of the decocted root was used to extract objects embedded in the flesh. The
bark and leaves were used as fomentation for broken bones.
Other: the wood is white (opposite of dark as in the "Dark Lord") it resembles ivory. It wassometimes used for piano and organ keys, handles of tools and metal tea pots.
The berries are poisonous.
Recourse Profiles of Northwest Plants Peggie Robinson
Pic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aril
Posted by Angie Goodloe LMT, Herbalist at 5:12 PM 1 comments
Labels: Fun, Herbs, Legends
Skunk Cabbage Lysichiton Americanum Legend
Time is short today, I will add more to this post at another time. This story really stuck withme and I wanted to share it. This is part of an continuing series of posts about folklore see
Hazel
Native American Legend
In the days before there were any salmon, the Native Americans had only plants to eat
including skunk cabbage root (very hot and peppery). The skunk cabbage decided to help the
people and caused the first salmon run to occure. As a reward the skunk cabbage was given an
elk skin blanket and a war club which he has kept to this day.
Photo by Pam Archer Posted by Angie Goodloe LMT, Herbalist at 3:15 PM 1 comments
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personally have always thought they were absolutely beautiful. The first recording of this
custom is in China where the willow is also a symbol of immortality because of it's long life.
In European folklore the willow has been believed to be "planted by the devil to lure people to
suicide by the restful swinging of it's branches"
According to Bible stories it was the tree where Judus hung himself after betraying Jesus.
It has been said that the willow produces snakes, while it's ashes will drive them away.
Witches give the tree special importance and use it as a meeting place.
In Louisiana folklore Willow leaves are used. You treat the fever by laying on the cool leaves,
when the leaves become warm, it meant the fever had transferred into them.
Willow smoke is believed to sooth and guide the souls of the dead
Old Time Medicinal Uses
Henriette has some great info & pictures on her site: White Willow bark contains salicin . In
1827 a french chemist Named Leroux extracted the active substance that relieves pain and
named it " Salicin." In 1899 Friedrich Bayer in Germany marketed aspirin.
Willow has been used for 1000's of years to treat pain & fever.
Pliny A Natural History records several other uses for willow: The ashes from the burnt bark
of the tips of the branches was said to cure corns and calluses and to remove spots on the face.
A decoction of the bark and leaves in wine was applied externally for gout. Earache was
treated with willow sap warmed in pomegranate rind with rose oil or with boiled willow
leaves beaten up with wax.
Both European herbalists and Rocky Mountain Native American tribes both independently
discovered the use of the decoction as a hair rince removes dandruff, the English mixed the
decoction with wine for their shampoo.
Native Americans also used the leaves for a poultice to apply to wounds & cuts, it was also
used for making strings for baskets and other uses.
Hippocrates used white willow, the cuniform sign for the willow appears frequently in
prescriptions on the 4000 year old Sumerian tablet from Nippur
The Ebers Papyrus lists a liquid from the tree which was mixed with figs, frankincense, beer,
and other things, and "boiled, strained, and taken for four days to cause the stomach to receive bread"
Willow appears in Dr Thompson's translation of the Assyrian tablets
The Bible makes reference to the trees for comfort, shade and water.
Dioscorides pointed out Willows astringent qualities, and makes reference to it's use for gout,
and the ashes steeped in vinegar used for corns on the feet
Galen a Greek physician who came along a century after Discorides (his name is where the
term "galenicals" comes from) noted willow bark extract was helpful in cleansing & healing
the eyes when infected.
In The Herball of John Gerard 1597 states " to stay the spitting of Bloud when boiled in wine
and drunke."
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The Wisdom of TreesMeditation and the willow tre e
Resource: Profiles of Northwest Plants by Peggy Robinson, Natures Healing Arts 1977National Geographic
Posted by Angie Goodloe LMT, Herbalist at 2:15 PM 1 comments
Labels: Fun, Herbs, Legends
Monday, July 16, 2007Herbal Legends, folklore & mediaval uses Hazel Corylus
OK, I just back from watching the new Harry Potter movie The Order Of the Pheoenix, the
secret is out I am a huge Harry Potter Nerd! Maybe I am just a kid at heart but I love epic
fantasy novels, old myths and lore, movies like Lord of The Rings, or similar fantasy. My
relatives are from Arkansas and a lot of folklore comes from those mountains, my Grandpa
was a "well witcher" he used a forked stick sometimes called a "divining rod" to find water
for wells and my aunt (his daughter) still does this for our family to this day, she just witched
my cousin's well when they built their home. She also does things like the "ring test" for
paternity and is a master gardener. Maybe this planted the seed for my fascination with themystical & magical. As I count down the days until the final book 7 in the Harry Potter series
comes out on Saturday, I thought it would be fun to cover some unusual uses for herbs in the
past and present, talk about some of the herbs in Harry Potter, & other fairy tales & mediaeval
uses of herbs. Let me just tell you ahead of time these uses are legends, I either heard it from
others or got the info from various books and stories I read, I have no way of proving them
(except for my aunt using the divining rod) so if you are left brained or need "proof" just
consider these writings a pleasant fiction. Another note, a lot of the time the old uses are not
put into practice today by modern herbalists (some can be dangerous), they are however fun
to read about & keep in mind that old legends do sometimes have a grain of truth them
(laughs mischievously) !
I will start with the type of wood many used for the divining rod. Hazel Corylus
Henriette has great pictures here
My Grandpa and I would go out and gather the hazel nuts they are very good to eat. I heard
from a friend that you can wear the shells to help with arthritic symptoms. After gathering the
nuts, Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest would burn the stalks to increase the nut
supply for the next year.
Old Time Medicinal Uses
Pliny's Natural History, hazel nuts can be used for catarrh and chronic cough
Europeans believed that a double hazel nut carried in your pocket would relieve a tooth ache.