Elderberry, Sambucus mexicana

Description:  When given sufficient water and some shade during the heat of the day this upright brushy plant will grow to
twenty feet in height. It likes to grow on the north side of slopes or near seasonal watercourses. It grows from sea level to more than 5,000 feet above sea level and can be found everywhere except the desert. Normally, it grows long branches from a crown that is just below ground level. If grazed by livestock it may appear as a tree with the first branches just out of reach of cattle and deer, both of which favor the green shoot, leaves, and ripe berries.

In the spring it is laden with flat-topped, tight clusters of pale-yellow flowers and may continue to put out a few blooms until mid-summer.  The flowers are followed by clusters of bright green berries that may change color to a deep purple when they ripen.  In some plants the berries stay green through ripening.  In either case the berries become covered with a fine coating of milk-white tartaric acid, the same substance that forms on plums and grapes and is used as a stabilizer in beaten egg whites.
 Uses:
The elderberry bush is a veritable general store, meeting many human needs and supplying food and medicine as well as musical accompaniment for prayer and merriment.
Food and Medicine:
 

The blossoms (fresh or dried) can make a pleasant tea that will settle an upset stomach (Saubel).

 

The tea can be finely strained and used as sterile soothing eyewash (Saubel).

 

The blossoms can be picked fresh and dipped in batter and fried to make fritters (E. Dozier).

 

The berries can be collected and made into wine (Herbert) or jelly (E. Dozier).

 

They make a delicious but seed-filled hand pie.  The berries can be half-dried and then pounded and formed into cakes and fully dried sun dried (Saubel). 

Other Uses:

Elderberry leaves can be combined with rusty nails and water.  When boiled and allowed to stand until the water turns jet black, the strained liquid makes a fine, black, acid dye.

 

Branches from which the thick central core of pith has been removed and about 1 ¼ “ diameter were harvested for making a musical instrument called a clapper stick.  The bark was removed and the remaining tube was cut in half longitudinally about 2/3 of the length of the branch.  The intact end was then wrapped as a handle and the stick was hit against the palm of the hand to produce a clapping sound.  This percussion instrument was used for both social and sacred songs, but not by everyone.

Clapperstick 
The leaves and twigs are eaten by animals but they are toxic to humans.
Locator:  East side of Comet Circle between the PE building and the road.