Elderberry

Description:

The blue elderberry is particularly abundant in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington. The berries make a delicious syrup and are anti-viral! The berries turn a purplish indigo, and then when they are ripe a dusty glaucous bloom spreads over the berries creating a dusky sky-blue appearance.

Habitat:

The blue elderberry is found in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington. They are often found along roadsides, fence lines and open meadows because they like a good amount of sunlight.

Notes:

Elder Leaves are a vulnerary and an analgesic. They have an affinity for the dermis and mucous membranes. Elder Flowers are diaphoretic, astringent, vulnerary, expectorant, an alterative that increases excretion of metabolic wastes, and they have an affinity for the lungs and skin. Elderberries are nutritive, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, mild laxative, antioxidant, and they have an affinity for the lymphatic system. Elder berries contain a considerable amount of vitamins A, B and C and are one of the richest sources of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins stimulate the body's immune response by promoting the production of lympocytes that act as a second line of defense against foreign cells. The berries also contain flavonoids, sugar, tannins, carotenoids and amino acids which assist in relief from sore throats and common colds. The action of Elderberry extract is that it prevents viral hemagglutinin, or the process of the invading cells using their spike-like projections to introduce its enzyme into healthy cell membranes. The viral enzyme is also neutralized in the presence of elderberry extract.