ELDER FLOWER Sambucus racemosa var. callicarpus

 Description: Plant

Large shrub with soft, pithy brown bark; oval to elliptical leaves, pointed tips, serrated; pyramidal flower clusters, bright red berries.

Habitat:

Aleutian Islands, Southcentral Alaska, Southeast Alaska; forests, moist soil, field edges, ravines.

Uses:

Alaskan elderberries are not good to eat raw, as the seeds may be poisonous.  However, people do make jelly from them, straining out the seeds. Athabas­cans use the roots and bark for medicine. They peel off the outer bark of the root, throw it away and boil the remaining root to make a tea that is good for colds, flu, high fever or tuberculosis. They also prepare a decoction of the stem bark to be used externally as a wash for infections.

Special Harvest or Processing Comments: