elder

Latin name: Sambucus nigra

genus: Honeysuckle family

Common names: Elderbaum, Holler, Keilken, sweat tea

Plant description

Branchy shrub, up to 7 m tall. Dark, unpleasant smelling bark. Pinnate leaves, large and golden, flat inflorescences with small, yellowish-white flowers that do not smell good. Black-violet berries ripen from it by autumn. Heyday: May to July.
Occurrence: common in gardens, bushes and along streams.

Plant parts used medicinally

You harvest the flowers as whole inflorescences and gently dry them. The young leaves and the bark can also be dried gently. The berries are harvested as soon as they are black-purple and completely ripe.

ingredients

Flowers contain essential oils, glycosides, flavonoids and tannins.
Ripe fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Medicinal effect and application

Elder flowers work sweaty, similar to the linden blossom feverish colds. They mobilize the body's own defenses and are able to Prevention of colds do good service. They also act similarly to goldenrod or hay hackle urinary. Leaves and bark are rarely used, they have a weak diuretic effect and are supposed to Rheumatism complaints alleviate.

Elderberry juice is rich in vitamins and minerals and has a soothing effect and increases the body's defenses against colds.

preparation

Tea made from 2 heaped teaspoons of elderflower.Pour ¼ l of boiling water over it, let it steep for 10 minutes. To sweat with feverish colds, prepare double the amount and drink the tea as warm as possible.
The berries are used to make a juice that should be boiled because raw it can lead to nausea and diarrhea. This juice is drunk as warm as possible and sweetened with honey for colds.

Use in homeopathy

Sambucus nigra is used in homeopathy rheumatic complaints, at Catarrhs ​​of the upper respiratory tract, feverish colds. Especially if they are accompanied by profuse sweating (when you wake up). A preferred remedy for children.

Also with rheumatic complaints which are associated with fever and kidney problems. Most common exponentiation D2, D3.

Side effects

Elderflower does not cause any side effects. Leaves and bark can cause stomach and intestinal irritation. The raw juice from the berries can nausea and diarrhea cause.