#Sambucus nigra

[slavicafire]

polish villages and elder (sambucus nigra); practical uses and folk beliefs:

• in polish folk medicine, leaves, berries, and flowers alike were used in multiple ways - for humans but for animals as well. for example, pigs suffering from erysipelas would be treated with compresses from elder leaves.

• for humans, a plethora of illnesses would be treated with elder: cough, stomach and bladder issues, joint pain, and even insomnia, asthma, and various emotional or psychological states. for example, “quiet children,” believed to be charmed, would be given elder infusions.

• the berries were also used to make soup: they’d be boiled with sugar and cream and served with potatoes. variations of this soup are still popular today in some places.

• it was recorded in some villages that women would make the ink required for school from elder; it was also used to make multiple types of toys and small instruments for children, such as popguns, whistles and folk pipes.

• ash from the elder would be poured over spots believed to bear the marks of devil activity as a way to cleanse them.

• in some villages it was believed that an elder growing by the house or the barn will protect it from witches and from lighting, or bring good luck to the household.

• you can sleep safely in the shade of the elder as snakes and worms and insects and all other crawling creatures will not dare go near it.

• while in many villages elder was believed to protect one from evil (most notably witches and devils) in many others it was believed to be demonic or evil in nature; it was called “evil” or “cursed” and believed to have evil spirits, illnesses, or devil(s) within.

• due to the belief that devil - or devils - reside between the roots of the elder, it was forbidden to cut it down or uproot it. the fear was that the evil would take revenge after such an act, or the place would be haunted, or bad luck and even death would fall upon the one who destroyed the tree.

• if an elder growing by the water was cut, the water itself would become poisonous. similarly, the consequences of ingesting raw and unripe elderberries were attributed to the influence of the evil spirit within it.

[sources: Komentarze do Polskiego Atlasu Etnograficznego t. VI. Agnieszka Lebeda: Wiedza i wierzenia ludowe, 2002. Podania, przesądy, gadki i nazwy ludowe w dziedzinie przyrody. Cz. 2, Rośliny. Bronisław Gustawicz, 1882.]

#polish #folklore #slavic folklore #folk #folk medicine #sambucus nigra

[boschintegral-photo]

Jelly Ear (Auricularia Auricula-Judae)

#photographers on tumblr #nature #mushrooms #fungi #fungus #jelly ear #auricularia auricula judae #garden #gardening #dead wood #sambucus nigra #original photographers #original photography

[luc3]

Black Elderberry. [French Folks Traditions]

In the 19th century, the peasants of France still attributed magical properties to the Elderberry, and its wood was sometimes used to make sorcerer's staffs and divinatory wands.

In the legend, Judas, after having betrayed Christ, would have gone to hang himself from an Elderberry branch. Thus, it is said in Vienne, that the person who breaks an elderberry branch in the garden of his neighbors will betray this one in the year, even without wanting it and without knowing it.

It should also be noted that in certain regions, Elderberry served as a panacea : everything was good in Elderberry for healing, in the past. But that following the curse linked to Judas, its powers had been supposedly removed.

Protective Magic :

Côtes d'Armor : Elderberries are planted near houses to ward off evil spells and snakes. It is also used to protect livestock (diseases and evil spells) by placing a branch in the cows' litter.

Yonne : Pick up a branch of Elderberry on the passage of the Corpus-Christi procession and then place it in an apple tree, it'll protect it against caterpillars. (?!)

Lower Brittany, Côtes d'Armor : You should never hit a cow with an Elderberry branch, it will make it sick, or cause its milk to dry up. Same thing for pigs. Moreover, if you burn Elderberry wood, you risk preventing the hens from laying eggs.

Magical Medicine:

Côte d'Armor : It is said that the Dlderberry is a "doctor", because the fairies took refuge in the flowers to flee the world when it became too mean. (a special one for my dear @lailoken )

Vienne, Vaucluse : the patient who touches an Elderberry will get better in the next few days, and to cure fevers you have to slip his name and date of birth into a previously hollowed-out elderberry tree.

The feast of Saint John is (of course) favorable to the Elderberry, whose virtues it multiplies.

In the Gospel of the Cattails it is said that warts are cured by rubbing it with an Elder leaf on the eve of Saint John, a leaf which is then buried. As the leaf rots, the wart dries out.

In Upper Brittany, Elderflowers collected on Saint John's Day are used to make an herbal tea to treat sick eyes.

Witchcraft :

Jura : We know the story of a sorcerer who introduced a little excrement from the person or animal he wanted to bewitch into a hollowed-out elderberry stick. He then fixed this stick in running water while reciting a prayer. The victim had stomach aches as long as the water agitated the stick.

In addition, Collin de Plancy in his Dictionnaire Infernal reports that : "when one has received some curse from a sorcerer whom one does not know, one hangs one's habit from one ankle and strikes on it with an elderberry stick; all the blows will fall on the back of the guilty sorcerer, who will be forced to come, in all haste, to remove the spell."

I learned SO MUCH HERE (snakes / little neighbors / sick eyes) while I came confident and persuaded to find other things in these quotes... Thus I'll continue to thank and pay tribute by posting the work of J. Fournier on the subject. (Once translated.)

Pic 1 @incroyables-plantes ; pic 2-3 @lherbier-d-elsa

Quotes arranged by me from the Dictionnaire de la France Mystérieuse by MC Delmas.

Also @graveyarddirt, I know you have some and you'll like it Sis' <3

#Sambucus Nigra #Black Elderberry #Great Grand'Ma #Great Old One #mountain gods #<3 #diary #Them #PS: if we could commit suicide collectively concerning the tumblr layout thing? #French Folks Traditions

[khi-one]

#sambucus nigra #elderflower #mine

[amandakaynorman]

Elderberry

May 2023

#original photography #plants #nature #spring #elderberry #Sambucus nigra

[oddman-the-oldman]

Ready for a good juicing.

#oddman-the-oldman #berry pickers on tumblr #sambucus nigra

[unkn0wnvariable]

Sunlit Elder

The small and pretty white flowers of elder, flowering in the sunlight, at RSPB Fowlmere.

#cambridgeshire #canon #canonuk #elder #elderflower #flora #flower #flowers #fowlmere #nature #nature reserve #outdoors #petals #plant #plants #rspb #rspb fowlmere #sambucus nigra #summer #white #wildlife

[thecryptandtheincubus]

{{VENDU}}

- Ƈօʟʟɛƈȶɨօռ ʟʊɢɦռǟֆǟɖɦ -

Ֆǟʍɮʊƈʊֆ ʟǟʋǟ

Ɦɛʀɮǟʀɨʊʍ : Sureau noir (Sambucus Nigra)

ʟɨɛʊ ɖɛ Ƈʊɛɨʟʟɛȶȶɛ : mon jardin

#the crypt and the incubus #witch jewelry #electroformed jewelry #botanical jewelry #collier #sureau #sambucus nigra #lughnasadh

[appleandelder]

Loosing my mind over European Elder

-she so tall!!!-

#sambucus nigra

[kristo-flowers]

Elderberry blossoms

#elderberry #flowers #blossoms #wildflowers #sambucu #sambucus nigra #macro #phtograaphy #bokeh #bokehlicious #original photographers #original photography #photographers on tumblr #artists on tumblr #lensblr #pws

[askwhatsforlunch]

Foraging, Growing and Gardening Tip: Elder Leaf Decoction

One problem I did not realise I had in the Kitchen Garden, was rodents. It seems silly really, that it didn’t occur to me sooner, for that might have explained the utter disaster of last year’s garden pea crop and why every time I have been sowing in the Lasagna Garden and parsnips and turnips and salsify started sprouting, their tiny leaves (actually cotyledons) were eaten the next day, the soil showing visible signs of trampling. But it wasn’t until I actually saw a little vole (or was is a mouse?) dashing down the edge of the Veg Patch and into the neighbour’s gardnen that I understood the damage! 

What to do then? I would certainly not use traps or anything that would kill them. But I can’t let them spoil my efforts with their greed. Another time, I saw a couple of them perilously hang over the bucket of Nettle Soup, to drink from it! So, watering my growing seedlings with it, as I do, doesn’t seem to deter them.

Thus, I read, and found that they find the smell of boiled elder leaves particularly repulsive, and that a decoction made with those is also a great natural fertiliser! Two birds with one stone, then! I picked up my basket and went to the woods.

I found “my” elder trees, and cut a few --berry-free, I shall come back in the Summer when they are black and ripe, and forage a few to make jam!-- branches full of leaves (see there, how to identify black elders (sambucus nigra) and how to make Elderflower Cordial too!)

Back home, I removed the leaves from the branches and weighed them. 200 grams/7 ounces of elder leaves, which I put into a large pot and covered with 4 litres/4 quarts of water. I let them soak for twenty-four hours.

After a day of saoking, I put the pot on the stove over a medium flame, and covered with a lid. After the first boil, I let the mixture simmer for half an hour. Then, removed the lid, increased the heat to medium-high, and let it boil for another fifteen minutes. It does have a rather unpleasant smell, so I hope it will be efficient. I removed from the heat and let the mixture cool completely, and soak a little longer overnight.

The following day, I strained it thoroughly, keeping the boiled leaves. It makes about 2.25 litres/4.7 pints Elder Leaf Decoction.

Then,  poured the Elder Leaf Decoction in a garden pump sprayer, and sprayed it all over the Kitchen Garden, over the growing garden pea and sugar snap pea seedlings, over the and the, over the beetroots, and the freshly planted kale seedlings, over the potatoes, over the Beans and the Squashes, and over the sprouting Parsnips, turnips and salsify and the Bell Peppers in the Lasagna Garden. I used the boiled leaf to make a border around the garden pea and sugar snap pea beds, in addition to my Slug-Repelling Coffee Ground borders!

I have some leftover, so I shall do it again, if necessary. When the peas and beans I’v just sown directly are sprouting, for instance. This Decocotion is as good for the vegetables as it is unpalatable to rodents apparently. Here’s hoping!

#Growing and Gardening #Elder Leaf Decoction #Elder Leaf Decoction recipe #Elder Leaves #Elders #Elder Tree #Black Elder #Sambucus nigra #Foraging #Foraging Tip #Natural Fertiliser #Natural Fertiliser recipe #Rodent Repellent #Rodent Repellent recipe #Rodents #Voles #Mice #Meadow Mice #Gardening #Gardening Tip #Gardening Tips #Growing #Growing Tip #Growing Tips #Growing Vegetables #Kitchen Garden #Veg Patch #Vegetable Patch #Lasagna Garden #Garden

[annimovsisyan]

#elderflower #elderberry #black elder #sambucus nigra #adoxaceae #plant chemistry

[boschintegral-photo]

Elder (Sambucus Nigra)  

#photographers on tumblr #nature #flowers #spring #white #floral #flores #blanco #elderflower #elderberry #sambucus #sambucus nigra #vertical #original photographers #original photography

[luc3]

Black Elderberry.

[Excerpt arranged by me from the Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of France by P..V Fournier.]

Elderberry, Suseau, Susier, Sus, Seus, Seuillet, Seuillon, Haut-bois, Grand Elder, Tree of Judas.

Sambucus nigra. This name is surely linked to the Greek σαμβύκη, sambukê which among the Greeks designated a flute or a harp, the hollow stems of the elderberry allowing music to be made.*

Generalities : Shrub or small tree from 3 to 10 m, the Elderberry is widespread everywhere in the hedges, the villages, less often in the woods and on the banks of the rivers. It bears numerous opposite branches, leaves and flowers.

They bloom in May-June, giving off a very pronounced particular odor and become yellowish as they dry out. They give birth to spherical berries, first green, then purplish black, shiny, with red juice.

Its flowers are not very nectariferous and therefore of no interest to bees.

-

Toxicity: The leaves and the second bark are toxic due to their hydrocyanic acid content when fresh and in high doses.

History : Already, prehistoric populations collected elderberries and perhaps made a fermented drink from them, as can be concluded from seed heaps found in Stone Age and Bronze Age sites in Switzerland. and in Italy.

This shrub was well known in antiquity. Theophrastus describes him as Aktê. The Hippocratics (4th century BC) attribute laxative, diuretic and gynecological properties to it.

Dioscorides says that the leaves and the young shoots cooked like vegetables chase away bile and pituite*; the root cooked in wine is given to dropsy, acts against the bites of vipers and is an emmenagogue*; it is also used as an ointment against gout.

The same indications are found in the Middle Ages, Saint Hildegarde recommends against jaundice, baths prepared with the leaves.

Saint Albert the Great (12th century) declared the bark, leaves and stems purgative and emetic. He reports a belief, stemming from sympathetic magic, according to which the bark would be laxative when it was detached from the trunk from top to bottom, and emetic if one operated in the opposite direction.

Properties :

The bark, leaves, flowers and fruits are used. All these parts appear unequally sudorific, dieuretic, purgative, emetic, and externally: detergent and resolvent.

The inner bark or second bark (liber) which forms a green base under the gray outer bark (suber), is in the fresh state, the most active part of the Elderberry. Sweetish at first, its flavor then becomes bitter, acrid and nauseous. The root would act even more energetically.

Externally ringworm has been successfully treated with an ointment made from pounded fresh bark and boiled in lard.

In addition, in application or in the form of an ointment, they are used to soothe hemorrhoid pain and heal them.

Leaf powder that is inhaled is also said to stop nosebleeds.

-

Perspiration caused by Elder flowers can abort bronchitis, angina, pneumonia.

The decoction of dry flowers provides excellent compresses on eczema and erysiple, good lotions against conjunctivitis and chronic ophthalmia.

The fresh flowers (very energetic) are used effectively against engorgements, cold tumours, paronychia, gangrenous wounds, ulcers, strong local inflammations and burns.

The fruits are very good for acute rheumatic fever because they also have calming properties in addition to diuretics.

Manual :

Diuretic decoction: 2 handfuls of second bark in a liter of water. Reduce by half by boiling.

Sudorific infusion of dry flowers: 10 to 50g per liter of boiling water. To be taken by hot cups close together.

Diuretic wine: 150g of second peel in 1 liter of white wine infused for 36 hours.

Powder of dry leaves: 10 to 15g in honey.

Surard vinegar: 10g of dry flowers macerated for a fortnight in 1 liter of wine vinegar. 4 to 10g in a cup of hot sugary water (very good for colds, high fevers and rheumatism.) This preparation can be used as toilet vinegar (?!)

Sudorific infusions composed of: Elder flowers and Linden flowers and the flowering tops of Sage (dosage in "one for one".)

-

For external use:

In infusion and decoctions 100g of flowers per liter of water.

Hot sachets of Elderberry (sometimes with Chamomile) applied locally against pain in the ears, teeth, stomach and joints.

Use against insect and viper bites: in friction and in decoction of leaves.

-

*wikipedia

*Pituite (from the Latin pituita), also called phlegm or phlegm, is an old medical term, which has hardly been used since the middle of the 20th century, and which could be related to phlegm or mucus produced by mucous membranes.

*Medicinal plants that stimulate blood flow in the pelvic region and uterus are called emmenagogues.

#Sambucus Nigra #Sureau Noir #Elder #My pics #diary

[musicandgallery]

Sambucus nigra

#musicandgallery #my photos #nature #plants #Sambucus nigra

[crudlynaturephotos]

#black lace elderberry #elderberry #sambucus nigra #flowering trees #withered berries #lake merritt #oakland