ELDERBERRY—

Flower clusters gathered in early summer, when newly opened. The blossoms are pale and strongly scented.

Dried, the flowers lose their brightness and dull toward yellow. In infusion they release a mild sweetness and a faint bitterness.

Later the fruit forms in heavy clusters. The berries darken from green to deep purple-black.
When crushed they stain liquid red before settling toward ink-dark purple.
In syrup or wine the fruit yields color quickly. In long boiling the berries soften and release their sharp sweetness.

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The fruit ferments readily into wine.

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Elder grows readily beside houses and garden edges. The branches spread quickly, and the tree returns easily even when cut back. Because of this, it has often been regarded as a plant of protection and renewal.

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The hollow stems add another layer to the plant’s character. When the soft pith is removed the wood becomes a tube, and elder branches were sometimes shaped into whistles or simple pipes.

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In systems of herbal correspondence elder has often been placed under Venus, the planet associated with fertility, nourishment, and sustaining life. The dark fruit reinforces this association with blood and vitality. Elderberry preparations have long been taken through the colder months.

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In contemporary energetic herbalism the plant is associated with the root and throat chakras, reflecting its dark fruit and hollow stems.

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Because elder flowers early and fruits heavily later in the year, some observers regarded the plant as a sign of seasonal turning. Blossom gives way quickly to dark fruit, and the branches bend under the weight of the harvest.

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