Talk:Elderberry

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 Elderberry is within the scope of WikiProject Plants, an attempt to better organize information in articles related to plants and botany. For more information, visit the project page.
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this shoud be an disambiguation page, volunteers?

Not sure it needs to be - Elder already is, and refers to this page for the plants in the genus Sambucus - MPF 12:34, 6 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Harry Potter

I removed the HP7 reference. Besides the usual problems with trivia sections, this one also was a spoiler. I thought about adding spoiler tags, but that doesn't help if you don't know what's going to be spoiled. 216.61.238.76 12:26, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] too many pictures

The first one should go. - Burschik

Text to second picture: Styria is not Austria. It's Slovenia.

[edit] Taxonomy

Here Sambucus is a genus in Caprifoliaceae family, but in article "Dipsacales" the Adoxaceae family noticed as "Elderberry family". Finally, "Caprifoliaceae" article do not refers genus Sambucus as a genus "regarded by some as belonging to a separate family Adoxaceae".

Of course, there is a note in "Caprifoliaceae" about the unclearness in these groups taxonomy, but all three articles should has the same point of view. --83.237.24.142 21:21, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] missing Link

I took off the leeds universtiy link as the page no longer existsAndham2000 14:56, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] elderflower

Was not sure about the elderflower champagne recipe as it is not elderberry! Should there be two pages or perhaps a new title that either uses the latin name or just elder? Andham2000 14:56, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)

The name of the plant is Elder, but Elder is a disambiguation page (for good reason, IMO). I see nothing wrong with including elderflower recipes under elderberry, but there is also precedent for moving the page to Sambucus. -- WormRunner | Talk 15:11, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Recipes belong at the Wiki Cookbook, not here! The page is titled 'elderberry' merely because 'elder' has other meanings (old people, tribal leaders, etc), so another suitable name for the plant genus page had to be found. - MPF 15:12, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Elderberries?
Elderberries?

[edit] Wild grapes or elderberries?

Can anyone properly identify this image? I am no expert and user:Schusch has suggested that the subject is probably elderberry. --Tysto 03:10, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Def elderberries- not a particularly great pic thought- the bush has been practically stripped by birds quercus robur 16:51, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sambuca connection?

Are elderberries used in the production of Sambuca? --Slashme 12:46, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

OK, I googled it, and yes - Sambuca is made with Sambucus. --Slashme 07:23, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

Elderberry is called Sambuco in italian, but it is not used to make Sambuca! Refer for instance to http://www.molinari.it/extra/bottiglia.asp (Molinari is one well known italian producer of sambuca) --Enui 21:12, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Southern Hemisphere

"two species in the Southern Hemisphere" repeated twice. What about Sambucus peruviana, AFAIK Peru is south of the equator. -- Goldie (tell me) 01:42, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] unsolicited testimonial

I have used the Elderberry juice for over 3 years it's been effective in treating colds and influenza. it's been used for centuries by the naitive americans. The juice can be found at many healthfood stores or on the net. I used to suffer from several bad colds and flue every year, but not as long as I have used elderberry juice . J klitzke.

[edit] Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle

This bush is potential habitat for the VELB in parts of Northern California. The VELB is on the endangered species act, although many biologists argue it should not be. This means that you cannot kill these bushes, or you face the wrath of the federal government.

[edit] Comments

I'm not an expert on elderflowers, but I thought there were a couple of useful comments I could make. Firstly, this article doesn't seem to cite its sources at all. Secondly, is Elderflower Cordial limited to the central European countries listed in the article? It's very popular in England and I was under the impression that elderflower cordial has a long history there too. Thirdly, could we have a picture of some elderflower cordial? Finally, we'd need to find a reliable source, but one website I came accross claims: "The origin of its name is Anglo-Saxon and stems from the word Æld meaning fire; the hollowed out stems were used to start fires. This origin is quite clear in the Low-Saxon name for the tree 'Eldrum'". I'd be cautious about this claim as the site also contains a lot of false information. [1] If anyone could work on these issues, that would be great.

[edit] Foetid Smell

I'd have said a urine/tom-cat smell myself.

[edit] In Folklore

I read somewhere of a supersticion surrounding the wood of elderberry, that it inhabits a evil spirit that causes misfortune to anyone that uses it. Can anyone confirm a source for this?


I'd heard that burning it was also unlucky as, supposedly the cross that Christ was crucified on was made from elderberry wood.

[edit] The elderberry way to perfect skin

Source: University of East Anglia

a team of researchers led by Prof Aedin Cassidy at the University of East Anglia and Dr Paul Kroon at the Institute of Food Research, will explore whether the skin’s condition is improved by a compound which gives berries their vibrant colour (called ‘anthocyanin’).

http://www.physorg.com/news102682394.html

[edit] Trivia Discouraged

I have never liked using the word "Trivia" for the sections, but nevertheless, useful information can be found in them. For example, I came to this page to see if it would make any mention of the Monty Python taunt, and it did. Otherwise, it would be difficult to quickly find specific information, even in the Monty Python article. (If it was mentioned at all, being such a popular and large franchise with so many famous gags.) --Demonesque 08:36, 11 September 2007 (UTC)