{"id":31909,"date":"2023-11-10T16:31:56","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T15:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/65dd343a-24ca-4a2c-9f1d-ec05ef73d93e"},"modified":"2023-11-10T17:40:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T16:40:49","slug":"elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits\/","title":{"rendered":"Elder tree guide: flowers, leaves and its power to ward off evil spirits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elder trees are famous for their elderflowers and elderberries, but did you know they were once used to ward off evil spirits? <\/p>

By Kevin Parr\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 10 November 2023 at 15:31 PM<\/p>

\n\n

It was once believed that the elder tree (Sambucus nigra<\/em>) had the power to ward off evil spirits, and render useless the spells of a witch. As a result, trees would be planted at gateways and in gardens, with whole hedgerows encircling the homes of the most superstitious.<\/p>

It was also believed that breaking so much as a twig of elder might bring ill fortune, though such a portent is overlooked by anyone searching for kindling. The dry, brittle branches of an elder burn with great speed and heat.<\/p>

Learn more about the elder tree, including what its flowers<\/a> and berries<\/a> look like.<\/p>

British tree guide<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A year in the life of an elder tree\/Credit: Woodland Trust<\/figcaption><\/figure><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h2>What does an elder tree look like?<\/h2><h3>Elderflowers<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Frothy white elderflowers burst into flower in May and June\/Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>In June, the elder is at its finest, its leaves almost lost beneath the white of its flowers. The petals are small and clustered, but form an umbel that is broad and soporifically scented, like a dollop of perfume-infused, inflorescent ice-cream. <\/p><p>The crowns of elderflower have long been gathered. Some are dunked in batter and fried, while others find their way into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/how-to\/food-recipes\/seasonal-recipes\/homemade-elderflower-cordial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cordials<\/a>, wines or bottles of fermented fizz. <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/how-to\/elderflower-guide-where-to-find-it-how-to-identify-and-recipe-ideas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elderflower guide: how to identify, where to find it and elderflower recipes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h3 id=\"h-elderberries\">Elderberries<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-590211440-b879a73.jpg?fit=1024,1024\" alt=\"Countryfile guide to hedgerow plants\" class=\"wp-image-141860\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ripe elderberries on a branch\/Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>This impacts little upon the tree\u2019s regeneration, however, and by August those pollinated flowers that remain will have transformed into berries that ripen from green to deep claret. These too may be harvested, by makers of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/how-to\/food-recipes\/seasonal-recipes\/elderberry-wine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wine<\/a> or roach anglers sourcing a free bait.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/how-to\/outdoor-skills\/elderberry-guide-where-to-find-health-benefits-and-recipe-ideas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elderberry guide: where to find, health benefits and recipe ideas<\/a><\/li><\/ul><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h3>Elder tree and wildlife<\/h3><p>Many more are eaten by birds, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/birds\/blackcap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blackcaps<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/birds\/thrushes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thrushes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/birds\/guide-to-pigeons-and-doves-of-the-uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">woodpigeons<\/a> all content to gorge before dispersing the undigested seeds through their droppings.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elder trees are famous for their elderflowers and elderberries, but did you know they were once used to ward off evil spirits? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":31910,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/elder-tree-guide-flowers-leaves-and-its-power-to-ward-off-evil-spirits-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Elder trees are famous for their elderflowers and elderberries, but did you know they were once used to ward off evil spirits?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/31909"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}