Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Elder

Description

Gaining popularity in modern times as a cold and flu medicine, elder flower has been an important folk remedy for centuries. The Roman naturalist Pliny wrote about the therapeutic value of this flowering tree in the first century A.D. Native Americans used elder as a treatment for respiratory infections and constipation as well as an herbal pad for healing wounds. Black elder (Sambucus nigra) is the most popular variety of the plant, though there are other species known to have similar chemical ingredients. Elder grows in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the United States. Most medicinal elder is obtained from the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the United Kingdom....