Elder seed Sambucus nigra seeds
LATIN NAME: Sambucus nigra
COMMON NAME: Elder
Elder is the generous, old-fashioned, berry-bearing shrub or small tree of the hedgerows and the waysides of the old world, and its dark, glossy berries and the fragrant white flower heads have been used by the country people for a very long time. The bushy, many-branched shrub carries the fine, pinnate leaves and the large, flat heads of the small, cream-white, fragrant flowers through the early summer, to be followed by the heavy clusters of the small, glossy, dark-purple berries. The flowers and the berries both have their uses in the kitchen. It is a generous, easy, fast-growing shrub of the sunny or the partly shaded ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Elder has a rich and well-documented place in the plant science, and both the flowers and the dark berries have been studied for a long time. The chemistry of the berries and the flowers, which have a very long record of use in the old world, has been looked at closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the traditional food and the herbal practice. The heavy clusters of the dark berries are also a fine subject of the study of the wild foods and the hedgerow crops, and the plant is a regular subject of the work on the useful shrubs of the countryside.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Elder is grown for the flowers and the berries, and both have their uses in the kitchen. The fragrant, cream-white flower heads are made into the fine, old-fashioned cordials and the fritters, and the dark, glossy berries are cooked into the jams, the jellies, the wines and the syrups. The shrub is also a fine, fast, easy addition to the wildlife garden, with the flowers for the bees and the berries for the birds. It has been written about in the food and the botanical papers for its long record of use, and it is a generous, easy shrub of the countryside garden.
The elder has been a plant of the countryside for a very long time, and the fragrant, cream-white flower heads are made into the fine, old-fashioned cordials and the golden fritters of the early summer. The dark, glossy berries ripen through the autumn and are cooked into the jams, the jellies, the wines and the syrups, always well cooked. The shrub is a generous, fast grower of the hedgerow and the wayside, and it gives the bees their early flowers and the birds their autumn berries.
To grow the elder from seed, give the small seeds a cold, damp spell first by storing them in a little damp sand in the fridge for a month, then sow them at a shallow depth in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep them in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings push through in good time and grow on fast. With the sun or the light shade and the ordinary soil, the fragrant flower heads and the dark berry clusters will be there in a couple of seasons.
Genus: Sambucus
Species: racemosa
Common Name: European Red Elder
Other Name: Red Elderberry
Pre-treatment: required
Zone Hardiness Cold: 4
Zone Hardiness warm: 7
Height / Spread: 3m/3m
Plant Type: Medium Shrub
Growth rate: medium-fast
Vegetation type: deciduous
Leaf /Flower color: green/white
DESCRIPTION:
It is in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.