Скачать или смотреть Blue Elderberry Flower and Making a Three-Herb Tea/Infusion with Elder, Yarrow, and Mint

In this video I identify blue elderberry Sambucus cerulea, describe some of the edible and medicinal uses for its blossoms, and I make a tea/infusion with elder blossoms, yarrow blossoms, and mint leaves. Elderberry - Sambucus spp. is famous for its use to shorten the duration of colds and flus, and blue elderberry - Sambucus cerulea is also useful for this. It is safe and gentle including for young children and elderly. Many people are aware of things like elderberry syrup being made from the berries of the elderberry plant, and there are more elderberry benefits than that!

A Warning About Elderberry

The stems, leaves, bark and roots contain poisonous cyanide producing glycosides which can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The sees also contain hydrocyanic acid. Some people can eat lots of the berries raw without any ill effect, but cooking or drying the berries destroys the toxic compounds.

Identification of Blue Elderberry

The new stalks of blue elderberry emerge from the base of the bush and are purplish green. The older stems become reddish and warty. Old bark becomes grey with linear ridges. The leaves of blue elderberry are compound leaves divided into 5 to 9 leaflets. The leaflets are lance-shaped, pointed, sharply toothed, usually smooth and hairless and they smell nutty when rubbed or crushed. The flowers are small and white to creamy coloured. They smell sweet and I think a little musty and grow in flat-topped clusters.

Elderberry Blossoms Are Edible

The flowers can be cooked and eaten by dipping them in batter and frying them or by taking them off their stems and mixing them in batter like pancake batter. They can also be used to make drinks like elderberry cordials.

Elderberry Blossoms Have Medicinal Uses

The elderberry blossoms have been used to stimulate urination and bowel movements and have been used in diet pills and laxatives. The flowers have also been used to make washes for treating sores, blisters, hemorrhoids, rheumatism and arthritis. For colds and flus, an infusion with elderberry blossoms, yarrow blossoms, and mint leaves can be used.

Tea or Infusion with Elderberry Blossoms, Yarrow Blossoms, and Mint Leaves

In the video a tea/infusion is made with elderberry blossoms, yarrow blossoms, and mint leaves. I used equal parts by weight of all three and steeped them in boiling water for fifteen minutes. This could also be done for 20 to 30 minutes as desired.

I found the elder, yarrow and mint infusion to be fairly bitter and strongly aromatic. I normally like the taste of yarrow tea, but this was more bitter than I am used to. I added maple syrup which helped improve the flavour. It tasted strongly like medicine to me which I think is understandable because I was using it like medicine!

Blue Elderberry - Sambucus cerulea
Yarrow - Achillea millefolium
mint possibly Mentha spp.


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Please consume wild plants at your own risk! Consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plants! This video is for information and entertainment only!

References

Fike, Jimmy W. Edible Plants: A Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of North America. Red Lightning Books. 2022

Gray, Beverley. The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North. Aroma Borealis Press. 2011.

Grogan, Barbara. Recipes for Natural Living: Healing Herbs Handbook. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2018.

Kloos, Scott. Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants. Timber Press, Inc. 2017

MacKinnon, A. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine Media Productions (BC) Ltd. 2014.

Meunick, Jim. Basic Essentials: Edible Wild Plants & Useful Herbs. The Globe Pequot Press. 1999.

Millard, Elizabeth. Backyard Pharmacy: Growing Medicinal Plants in Your Own Yard. Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. 2015.

Parish, R.; Coupe, R.; and Lloyd, D. Plants of the Inland Northwest and Southern Interior British Columbia. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2018

Pojar, Jim and MacKinnon, Andy. Plants of Coastal British Columbia including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2004.