Elderflower Tea 4 oz. Tin

(Sambucus canadensis). 4 oz. tin with clear see-through lid. Elderflower Tea is traditionally used in the treatment of colds and influenza. Makes approximately 20 cups.

This opposite-branched shrub grows up to twelve feet tall. The stems are long and slender with opposite branching. The bark is rough, grayish-brown to black. Soft light tan to orange-brown pith is found inside the stems and branches. Since courtship flutes were fashioned from the stems, Elder is known as the “Tree of Music” among some Shoshoni tribes. The flowers of the Elder are small and cream colored and are borne in dense, rounded umbels. The round, dark blue or black berries appear in the autumn. The Elder is found on moist sites, mostly at elevations of 2,000 to 5,000 feet.

Dried elderflowers, steeped in filtered water, makes an effective eyewash for red and irritated eyes. The most frequent use of Elderflower Tea is to stimulate sweating in dry fevers. Tea of the dried flowers also act as an antispasmodic and is therefore helpful in treating stomach cramps.

Constituents: Flowers contain triterpenes including ursolic acid, three-0-[[beta]]-hydroxyursolic acid, oleanolic acid, [[alpha]]- and - [[beta]]-amyrin and free and esterified sterols. Fixed oil, with fatty acidsmainly linoleic, linolenic and palmitic acids, alkanes.