I’m not going to try to pretend being a medical expert…but all perscription medicine is poison. Yet, a small dose of poison keeps people alive sometimes. Digitalis comes to mind.
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Warfarin is medicine. Also kills rats.
Cocaine is medicine. But illegal. People are in prison bc of it.
Marijuana is medicine. But illegal. People are in prison bc of it.
Pseudoephedrine is medicine…but illegal and people are in prison bc of it.
Sennocides are plant poisons…but medicine to make you poop.
lol it is crazy.
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ive eaten a few handfuls raw off the bush with no problems but they were dead ripe and i dont do it all the time. i find mixing some black currant, which is another beneficial berry. gives it a better taste. moderation is the key when eating any berry that has medicinal properties. Only flowers and berries arent toxic in average amounts. the other parts have been used as medicine but only by people with alot of knowledge on dosage and application. 1st nations people are probably the only ones that still hold that knowledge.
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Excellent point.
Can you imagine starving and feasting on Peyote? How about Pokeweed and Holly? Those sure would look tasty.
How about a full skillet of magic mushrooms?
Someone at some point got their innerds flushed and their minds blown testing the waters of what grows naturally.
I bet big laughs were had from naughty Native Americans… i know i would have had great fun watching my friend chase Peyote with Magic Mushrooms then telling him the cure was to smoke this peace pipe.
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i think most of them knew not to eat alot of something new before tasting a small bit and waiting for any negative effects. but then you always got that 1 person. 
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This has always been my understanding of them and I do eat a few off the bush just to taste for ripeness when I’m getting ready to harvest. But the things I like to make with them require some cooking, so I don’t plan to eat a lot raw just to see where I hit the line that makes me feel sick.
I think it will be interesting to see how research proceeds now that there is more interest. Hopefully there will be good research, with double blind studies, controls, etc. At least for now I’m happy to have some syrup in seltzer or some jelly on toast if I’m feeling like I’m getting a cold. It might help with the cold or it might no. I feel like it does, but that’s not exactly good science. But I enjoy them all the same, so might as well give myself a “dose”.
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Yes it only takes one nibble off the wrong plant to close your eyes for good. That’s how they learned it’s a hard lesson. If you discover something new to feed starving people you were very brave and that was admired by everyone. It takes one mistake like mixing up poison hemlock with queen Ann’s lace. They won’t ever do it again. Like foxglove used to make digitalis its deadly. Many of these plants like mullein were brought over from Europe and they are not native at all. People say native Americans use them and they did but they were not here before white men arrived.
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All natural foods have medicines built in Fruits That Contain Salicylic Acid | Our Everyday Life it’s not just elderberry but the problem is Noone understands this now. Different fruits have different tastes but may be the same species. @scottfsmith and I once discussed some bitter blackberries he had and I mentioned some blackberries are higher than others in Salicylic Acid. That’s the same substance as is in aspirin. Peaches contain cyanide but most is concentrated in the pits but some is in the fruit Are Stone Fruit Seeds Poisonous? What to Know About Cherry, Peach, and Plum Pits . Most fruits are partially poison Cyanide, Arsenic, and Other Toxins in Fruit: Apple Seeds, Peach Pits, Cherry Pits, etc.: Facts, Mythes and Old Wive's Tales. Find Out ther Truth!
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rhubarb becomes poisonous if you don’t cut the leaf off right away.
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If you cut them down at some time before pulling them out, I would love cuttings of the Samyl and Samdal- never tried european type. The roots are huge, I am sure.
I expect to dig them this spring, I’d be happy to send you some cuttings. I’ll do my apple pruning in March I expect, so check to see if I have any apple scions you want as well. Don’t hesitate to remind me, I’m likely to forget !
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Awesome, thank you.
Ive got John, Adams, Nova, and York. I’m curious what the trick to producing berries is. I see good production on wild plants regionally. I’ll Probably dump a bucket of compost manure around mine this year. Zone 4 lots of wind and not a lot of snow covered here; i think mine get desiccated pretty bad. From five or six plants I was barely able to get a dozen cuttings, most of the stems were toast. Propagation is easy and I’ve been putting them all over.
I’m reminded now of the one plant I got fruit from; it’s on the north side of a building with quite a bit of shade. I think The best thing it has going for it is the protection from the wind.
I think the named ones are wild also just from another area of the country.
From what i gather they care most about water… so are yours in a dry spot or wet spot?
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Maybe I’ve just not eaten many, but to my palate, any ‘flavor’ I’ve detected in my own elderberry jelly or syrup has been contributed by the lemon juice and sugar or honey/cinnamon.
I’m using them for the supposed antiviral properties. If I want flavor… I’m going with blueberries, blackberries, Aronia, or somethng along those lines.
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I’d differ a bit. The flavor is mild and subtle. But I consider it the best jelly I’ve had…and I made several years ago. (Back then my taste buds may have been better than at present.)
Elder may like fertile stream banks, but once established, thrives any place around here (getting 40-something inches of rain yearly).
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keep them mulched a good 4ft. from the base. they are very shallow rooted and even lawn grass will stunt them. i give mine a good 3-4in. of fresh mulch every season and 1 7’ bush fills all my needs. they like lots of water esp. when the berries are forming. mine arent really protected from the N.W winds but do fine.
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i mix in a few handfuls of b. currant in my elder juice. gives it a nice flavor.
I’m not crazy about the flavor either. I shoot about 1/2 oz of high quality cold pressed juice each morning hoping for health benefits. I saw some mixed drink recipes that used elderberry juice for the bitter flavor that looked interesting but I have not had a chance to try them. I believe the tremendous increase in their popularity is related to health not flavor. Never had Elderberry wine, but it sounds ineresting.
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Really? I planted a few teeny tiny ones last winter - the had massive flower heads and produced fruit. Not good fruit… lol. but i could just toss them into the juicer with everything else.
Would these smaller plants benefit from getting cut to the ground this year 1 year after planting or should i just leave them go wild for another year and prune to ground this time next year?