Elder
size:
plant: average 4-6 meters tall
flower clusters: 10-25 centimeters
flower: 5-6 millimeters
color:
flowers: (creamy) white
fruit: black
blossoms:
May-July
pollination:
flies
reproduction:
seeds, spread by birds
life span:
perennial
- Dut: Gewone Vlier, heulenteer, hullunder
- Lat: Sambucus nigra
- Eng: Elder
- Fren: Sureau noir
- Ger: Schwarzer Holunder
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- Elder, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Elder
As tasty and edible the (processed) berries and flowers may be, the green parts of the elder are poisonous. Only red deer are able to digest them. Elder grows just about everywhere in the Netherlands, in the wild as well as cultivated, in forests, dunes and river valleys. As long as there is nitrogen available, elder is happy. Thanks to sea buckthorn, which adds nitrogen to the soil, elderberry bushes can take root in young developing dunes relatively close to the sea. The black, shiny berries ripen in the autumn, coinciding with the migration of many (hungry) birds.
- Holy tree
- Elderbushes, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
It's not all that strange that elder is found in so many different environments. Since olden times, it was purposely planted for various reasons. The flowers and berries were edible, the entire plant was useful for treating anything from bronchitis to colds and fevers and people used to believe that the plant kept away the devil. Elder was considered a holy tree in which the goddess Freya lived. By planting it near to the farmhouse, you warded off disaster. It is true that the strong-scented flowers keep away flies, which can carry diseases, which caused disasters in the past.
See also
Info
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