Elder's white flowering heads dot the hedgerows in early June
Nature on our doorsteps: Elderflower, the scent of early June
Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into the natural heritage around us and the beautiful biodiversity of the plants and creatures
After the masses of white Hawthorn blossom have finished flowering in May, the next bush to pepper the hedgerows in white flowers is the Elder.
The Elder, also known as the Elderberry, can reach up to 10m high.
It has wide spreading branches and its bark is grey with a texture like cork.
It grows in hedgerows, the edges of woodlands, along roadsides and riverbanks, and on waste ground.
In late May and early June, it sends out its many tiny flowers that sit closely together on flat-topped, umbrella-shaped, flowerheads.
These sweet smelling flowerheads are the scent of early June, and they are rich in pollen and nectar.
Once pollinated, these flowerheads transform in autumn into dangling bunches of blue-purple elderberries which attract Blackbirds and Wood Pigeons.
Both Elder’s flowers and berries were once used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes, and both were also used to make syrups, cordials and wines.
The tiny white flowers of Elder occur together in a flat flowerhead.
The flowerheads are still used today to make a sparkling drink that is sometimes referred to as elderflower champagne.
The flowers contain naturally occurring yeasts, and when soaked in water with sugar and lemons, these yeasts begin to ferment.
They release gas which makes the mixture fizzy, or sparkling, and the ‘champagne’ can be bottled for use throughout the summer.
Its berries are also used to make wine, or to make a medicinal syrup which was once used to help treat colds and coughs.
They can also be used to make jams and jellies, but as they have an unusual taste, elderberries are generally combined with other tastier hedgerow fruit like blackberries and crab apples to make a general Hedgerow Jam.
While Elder’s flowers are pleasantly scented, its leaves are not.
When these are bruised, they release scented compounds into the air which many people find unpleasant.
Luckily however, midge flies also find the smell unpleasant, so carrying a twig of bruised Elder leaves with you on an evening walk can help keep annoying midges away.
