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It’s all been about the elder tree this week.
The one that was growing rogue just outside the clinic has been cut down. It was sprawling between two plum trees and greedily stealing a lot of light from the vegetable garden. Elder grows abundantly here in the UK and we are not lacking in other elder trees on our land. However, this particular tree, a nuisance though it was, has gifted us with beautiful clusters of berries just at the right time. We gave it thanks and harvested the most of the berries knowing that the other elder trees we have nestled in the hedgerows and dotted about will offer plenty for birds and wildlife to forage.
You might remember my elderflower oxymel that I made back in late spring which uses the fragrant blossom of this extraordinary tree?
In late summer or early September the tree produces heaving clusters of crimson berries that are rich in a compound called anthocyanins, a flavonoid which boosts the body’s production of cytokines and thereby strengthening and supporting the immune system. These little berries also have powerful viral deactivating properties and contain little spikes which pierce cell walls to stop viruses from replicating. This is why they are so useful during the cold season when colds and flu’s take ahold of weakened immune systems.
See? Isn’t Nature just so marvellous that she produces just exactly what we need, when we need it.