Sambucus canadensis L. (The American Elder)

"So repugnant to insects is the odor of the American elder that an eighteenth century gardener recommends that cabbages, turnips, etc., be whipped with young elder twigs to preserve them from insect ravages.  An infusion of elder leaves is often used to-day to keep bugs from the vines.

The clustered flowers of the elder remind one of mellow old lace. They give off a heavy, sweetish, and. to many people, a rather sickening odor...Elder flower water is much used by the confectioner...The young buds are sometimes pickled like capers...

The specific name is supposed to be derived from sambuke, an ancient musical reed instrument -- the prototype  of the crude hollow-stem elder whistle of the barefoot country boy.

The same hollow stalks of the elder play an important role in every maple-sugar camp.  Cut into appropriate lengths and inserted in the incisions of the tapped trees, they serve to conduct the rising sap into the waiting pail or sugar trough.

Other crops may fail, but this plant always produces a full harvest, never yielding to the caprices of the season, be it wet or dry, hot or cold."      ~The Book of Wild Flowers, 1924~

After being so inspired by my favorite British blogger and their elderberry cordials (here and here), I have become obsessed with finding elder bushes in order to harvest the flowers.  I spotted a few bushes in my travels, and last week I harvested enough blossoms to make my very first batch of elderberry cordial. I felt like a little kid that had just come home from the candy store with a bag full of treats. Making sure I had identified the flowers correctly, I pulled out one of my new favorite books, recently acquired from a library sale, Book of Wild Flowers, put together by the National Geographic Society in 1924.  I read the portion written about the American Elder and found it interesting and quite entertaining. I was aware of the medicinal properties of the berries and have made elderberry syrup in the past to help with cold and flu season, but I had not known that the older branches were hollow and used in early maple sugaring, nor that the plants were used by gardeners to ward off harmful insects. I was very  happy to learn of the other uses of this bush, and Hubby and I are already making plans for planting our own hedge of elderberry bushes next spring, ideally somewhere close to the gardens so as to preserve them from insect ravages.
I have since found more bushes in bloom and have plans of making another batch of cordial, hoping to return later in the year to pick the berries.  Many thanks to our British friends for introducing me to the lovely elderberry bush and the delightful cordial made from its blossoms.