Elderberry Foraging

In the Harry Potter books, and movies, there exists the elder wand with magical properties that allows an ordinary wizard to do extraordinary things. The elder wand is made of elder wood.  Here in the American Midwest we have elder wood from the elderberry shrub. This shrub flowers in late June to early July and produces berries a few months later. Elderberry is thought to be an immune system booster, due to its antioxidants and vitamins. With COVID, and isolation, we all good use a boost to our immune systems. Last week Thursday morning while I was attending a meeting Land Girl undertook a mission to forage for elderberry flowers. 

Elderberry Flower, source: Google Images

With the work on converting land at Hidden Farm to a prairie, her main supply of elderberry flowers and berries was chopped down by Dane County last winter. Hence, she scours the village while on walks or biking to find elderberry bushes. Fence rows, long-fallow fields, tree lines, and other areas undisturbed for several years may contain the plant. Being berries, they are carried by birds and dropped and so the plants can be widely scattered. 

Last year Land Girl made cordial with the flowers, and an elderberry tincture with berries she had picked. The berries are toxic, but boiling them apparently releases the toxins and makes them safe to ingest. The flowers are apparently the only part of the plant that is not toxic. Which brings to mind the issue of who in the world ever thought of making a tincture out of a toxic plant? Not to mention how much effort is required to remove such small berries from their stems? 

Elderberries and an Elderberry Tincture Bottle
Source: Google Images

This year, she is taking her Land Girl traits another step, by harvesting the flowers for a tea, and making a salve, apparently for wounds. Having suffered two injuries in the past three weeks maybe Land Girl has concluded that I will be the trial and error person for the salve. She has already made a cordial again this year with the flowers. The plant overall is somewhat toxic so care needs to be utilized to remove many of the stems from the flowers and berries. Cooking reduces the toxicity.

As we travel the roads she is now quick to point out elderberry plants, whether on a rural road or a divided highway. In the course of her foraging for elderberry flowers, Land Girl did leave some flowers on the plant so berries will develop. The trouble with elderberries is that they are eaten by birds, which leaves a small window of opportunity to harvest when the berries are ripe, but before they are devoured by other creatures. 

The wood from the elderberry may not be worth much here as it was in the Harry Potter series. I am not aware of anyone who makes anything out of the wood, let alone a magic wand, but the berries provide an interesting crop that can be made into a variety of products. It is that variety of use that leads to Land Girl doing her Land Girl stuff by making salves, tinctures, cordials, and whatever else she may conjure, or, perhaps more accurately, find on Pinterest.