Buds Bursting

Despite almost two weeks of freezing temperatures and constant snow, we found these fresh new leaves sprouting from elder Sambucus nigra twigs in Durham city yesterday. Unlike most trees and shrubs, common elder doesn't form closed winter buds gripped by tough bud scales. Instead it forms open leafy buds, that can sprout into new growth at the first available opportunity.

Nearby we found Sambucus racemosa, a relative of our native elder that has been introduced from mainland Europe into North East England and is more commonly found in Scotland. You can see a  photo of the plant in flower by clicking here. Unlike our native elder, which produces deep purple, almost black fruit, this species carries bunches of larger scarlet fruits. It also differs from the native species in producing these rather attractive winter buds, whose bud scales are already beginning to loosen.

Elder - the Elixir of Life?

There seems to be a fine crop of elder Sambucus nigra berries in our local hedgerows this year. John Evleyn, the 17th. century writer, gardener and diarist, was a great fan of this ubiquitous hedgerow tree. “If”, he wrote, “ the medicinal properties of the leaves, bark, berries,&c., were thoroughly known, I cannot tell what our countrymen could ail, for which they might not find a rememdy from every hedge, either for sickess or wound. The inner bark of elder applied to any burning takes out the fire immediately; that, or in season, the buds boiled in water-grewel for a breakfast, has effected wonders in a fever; and the decoction is admirable to assuage inflammation. But an extract may be composed of the berries, which is not only greatly efficacious to assist longevity, but is a kind of universal preventive against all infirmatives whatever; and of the same berries is made an incomparable spirit, which drunk by itself, or mingled with wine, is not only an excellent drink, but admirable in the dropsy. The ointment made with the young buds and leaves  in May with butter is most sovereign for aches, shrunk sinews &c., and the flowers macerated in vinegar not only are of a grateful relish, but good to attenuate and cut raw and gross humours”. All of which may go some way to explaining why my maternal grandmother, who used to make some pretty potent elderflower champagne and elderberry wine, lived to a ripe old age...... although more recent research and opinion has been more circumspect about the safety of some of the folk medicine attributed to this plant. 

Elder shoots grow remarkably vigorously in their first year and I have vivid childhood memories of cutting these, hollowing out the pith and using them as pea-shooters. The hollowed-out twigs have also been used to make flutes and the generic name Sambucus supposedly comes from the Greek (?) sambuca, a musical instrument – although the word was originally applied to a stringed instrument rather than one that you blow. Elder pith, dissected from the centre of the stems, figured in my education when I was at school, for demonstrating electrical charges and for holding plant specimens that were then thin-sectioned for microscopy by hand, using a cut-throat razor (can you imagine Health and Safety allowing that in a school today!)

Recently elder as a natural resource has undergone something of a revival, with the popularity of elder flower cordials and elder flower presse, which has created an unprecedented demand for the inflorescences. Nice to see that at least some of the potential of our native biodiversity is being realised…..

Older Elder

Most elders Sambucus nigra growing in hedgerows never achieve much more than large shrub-size and are usually short-lived, but when this species does have space to grow it can become quite a handsome tree, with deeply fissured bark on its trunk. This individual (double-click for a larger image) grows beside the road between the Derwent reservoir and Blanchland and like many mature elders it's playing host to a dense covering of lichens on its branches and twigs, that look very attractive in the spring sunlight.

The yellow lichen is a Xanthoria species - probably Xanthoria polycarpa - that forms a dense covering on most of the older elder twigs.

Elder seems to be favoured host for this lichen - most trees seem to have some and many are smothered in it. I wonder what it is about elder bark that that makes it a favoured host?

For more posts on tree ID click here