Elder  (Sambucus nigra)

The elder is not quite large enough to be classed as a tree, but is too large for a bush (4). It is a strange ‘tree’ of many contrasts. The heartwood is extremely hard, yet the branches are weak and barely able to support themselves. It produces clumps of creamy-white sweet-smelling flowers (2) but the leaves give off an unpleasant pungent smell, similar to the smell of mice nests, as the alternative name ‘God’s stinking tree’ attests (4). Elder berries are small, globe shaped and a deep purplish-black in colour, and have been harvested for centuries for a huge range of purposes (4). Elder is the focus of a rich wealth of folk lore, and has many magical associations (5). The name ‘elder’ derives from the Anglo-Saxon word aeld, meaning fire. This may have arisen from the practice of using the hollow stems of the elder as bellows to encourage fires (4) (5). It was, however, extremely bad luck to burn elder wood; if this happened the Devil was said to appear, explaining another local name ‘Devil’s wood’ (5). Conversely it was said to keep the Devil away if planted close to a house (4). Some of these old superstitions linger today; many modern hedge-cutters refuse to attack an elder for fear of bad luck (6). The hollow branches are the origins of yet another (this time Scottish) name ‘bour-tree’; bour means pipe (4). The cross used to crucifix Jesus is said to have been made of elder wood, and the elder was tree on which Judas hanged himself (4).