The fruit of the death sacred old magic wand, if you eat wrong, you will see the god of death.
The autumn of England in September is thick, and the colourful autumn leaves of autumn leaves are already fascinating. At this time, whether in the city or in the country, you can see a tall shrub full of purple-black berries, which is the Sambucus nigra, which is popular among the British.
Small fruit with purple or green
-The first magic wand of the magic world-
Friends who have read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will not be unfamiliar with the old wand. In the eccentric magical world of Harry Potter, there are three powerful death sacred objects: The Elder Wand, Reborn Stone, and Invisibility Cloak. Among them, the old wand headed by the mana is powerful.
It has become the object of many wizards. In English, Elder is a common name for elders except for the word accident of the elderly. And this legendary invincible old wand is made of Western elder bones native to Europe.
If it is not the old wand, Harry will be defeated by Voldemort.
There are more than 20 species of elders in the world, which are widely distributed in the temperate and subtropical regions of the northern and southern hemispheres. In the traditional classification system, Elderberry was once included in the Lonicerae family by Muggle botanists. In the latest APG system based on molecular basis, the genus is classified under the Wufuhua family. Sambucus nigra is a deciduous tree or large shrub of the Eucalyptus genus. Its scientific name is Sambucus, which is derived from the Greek sambukē, which refers to a triangular instrument of ancient Greece. The kind of word nigra means black, which means that the berries of the Western elderberry are purple and black in color.
Purple-black berries look very attractive
In many national and regional cultures, elders are considered traditional folk herbs. Regarding the origin of the name of elderberry, Chinese traditional medicine believes that it has the merits of bones. However, this miraculous effect was inferred by ancient people in terms of their branches and bones and their habits of easy growth. According to the records in the "Compendium of Materia Medica", the elderberry "the wood body is light and unintentional, and the lychee is inserted into the stool." Therefore, the ancients regarded the plant as an herbal medicine capable of continuing the bone and healing the wounds. For elderberry. In Europe, elderberry plants are also highly valued by many medicinal values.
(Left) Naturally formed bulge at the stem section of Western elderberry | (Right) Western elder's twig is hollow, with bone-like pith
-Ill be poisoned by mistake-
When the mature berries of the Western elders are adorned with branches, in the eyes of the British, this is the sign of the end of summer. The string of black and bright berries is not only attractive in color, but also loves some birds. However, birds can eat, it does not mean that it is safe for people.
Like many shrubs, Western elders also have lush crowns, and yellow-white shredded flowers bloom in summer. Although the appearance looks simple and low-key, in fact most plants of the genus Elder are toxic. Take Western elderberry as an example. Its roots, branches, stems and leaves contain a toxic substance, cyanogenic glycosides, which are contained in the immature fruits and even seeds of the western elders. Slightly toxic, raw food can cause vomiting or diarrhea.
Remember, immature green and red fruits are toxic
Why is the cyanogenic glycoside in the Western elderberry a respectable one? This is because these substances can be hydrolyzed to produce highly toxic hydrocyanic acid under the action of enzymes, and 60 mg of hydrogen cyanide reaches a lethal dose in adults. In the 19th century, Danish fairy tale writer Andersen created the fairy tale "Mulberry Mama" according to European folklore. After drinking the elderberry tea in the story, the children in the story not only saw the elderberry growing in the teapot, but also had a series of wonderful adventures. Today, this is mostly due to the illusion of elderberry leaf poisoning. So don't underestimate the power of this magical world's first wand.
Western elderflower is one of the few non-toxic parts of the whole plant, but if the toxic leaves are mixed in elderberry tea, it will cause slight poisoning.
So, how can we safely consume this “magic” plant? We have only two choices: when it blooms in summer or when the fruit is fully ripe and turns purple-black. However, I have tried fully ripe Western elderberry, and the sour taste is completely incompatible with the delicious.
Elderberry summer blooming creamy fragrant flower
-Food Guide for Magic Wand -
After entering the fall, the fruits of the Western elders gradually matured and turned black. Face the string of seemingly sweet and juicy berries, please first press your curiosity. Since its fruit is not delicious, and there is a risk of food poisoning, why do Europeans regard it as a food? This is because they have already found the best of both worlds.
The ripe berries of the Western elders are common ingredients on the European table.
Although these juicy small berries taste sour, they are not suitable for direct consumption. But after processing, the dried fruit can be made into a safe drink. In addition, it is one of the common berries used in Europe to make jams. The jam made with Western elderberry berry is sour and sweet, and has a flavor.
Sweet and sour refreshing Western elderberry jam
In the upper and lower parts of the Western elders, except for the fully mature fruits, for the mammals, only the flowers are left in the non-toxic part. Western elderberry blooms in early summer, and its flowers contain a lot of nectar, which is an excellent honey source plant. Whenever the breeze licks the creamy flower, the rich floral scent of muscat is filled with air, making the European summer full of sweetness. At this time, the Europeans will pick up its flowers for dip in the elderberry flower or elderberry syrup. These floral syrups and flower dews are often used to make cocktails, champagne, juices or a variety of tea drinks, and their flowers are used to make cakes, desserts, ice cream and cosmetics.
Elderflower Golden Tonic and Sambucus Dessert
Western elderberry is not only a food on the European table, but also known as the "village medicine box." For centuries, Europeans have used their flowers or mature berries as traditional herbs to treat cough, fever, sore throat and many other conditions. A cup of elderberry tea or elderberry syrup is a warm childhood memory for Europeans.
-Everyone loves elderberry-
Although humans can cause quite unpleasant consequences after eating Western elders, some creatures love it. The tall plants of the Western elders not only provide shelter for many mammals, but also mature berries are important foods for some birds. When the autumn fruit is ripe, birds such as Columba palumbus and Sylvia atricapilla enjoy these delicacies and help the western elders spread the seeds.
Mature Western elderberry is one of the favorite foods of the pigeon tail, they can eat whole bushes in a short time.
In the European legend, after Judas betrayed Jesus and hanged on an old tree, people called a black fungus growing on the tree called judas's ear (the ear of Judah), which was misinterpreted as jew's ear in circulation. (Jewish ears). This black fungus is the Auricularia auricula-judae we are very familiar with. On some large Western elders, they are very easy to see.
Western elderberry overgrown with black fungus fruit
In addition, the grazing ants will also carry the elders on their tender stems in the early spring, when the Western elders sprout new sprouts. The locusts use the sharp mouthparts to greet the sap of the plants greedily, and the sugars that are eaten but cannot be digested become the excrement "melon" with an anhydrous sugar content of up to 95%. For the lover who likes sweets, It is delicious. The ants will use the tentacles to pat the ass of the locusts, prompting them to expel the honeydew. In return, the ants protect the locusts and expel their predators.
The Aphis sambuci, which is parasitic on the elder, forms a mutually beneficial relationship with the ants.
-Take the bee to lead the butterfly, really incense! -
As a beautiful source of honey, the Western elders, which are good at attracting butterflies, have won the favor of horticulturists. Therefore, it was cultivated with many horticultural varieties such as black leaves, gold leaves, mosaic leaves, and cracked leaves. In Europe, you will often see a very special black leaf variety, Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace' (Western elderberry black leaf lace variety). Its new leaves are dark green at first, and then gradually turn black. In addition to the slightly white inflorescence, the whole plant exhibits a purple-black hue, a horticultural variety of flowers, leaves and fruit.
Among the elders, there are also plants that are very similar to elderberry. It is our common S. chinensis, which can be seen from its scientific name chinensis, which is native to China. In the Compendium of Materia Medica, it is also known as Lu Ying. The biggest difference from elderberry is that it is a herbaceous plant without woody stems and is therefore called the sambucus. In addition, the sambucus has a unique feature. In the terminal umbels, there is a yellow inverted cup-shaped infertile flower (mother cup), which acts as a butterfly for the fertile bee. . By August and September, the fruit of the sambucus has matured from green to orange and from orange to red. And the little nectare cups turned from yellow to dark green, with a low-key silhouette against the ruby-like fruit.
Sambucus flowers and fruits
In addition to the different color of the leaves, the colors of different species of elders are not the same. S. adnata, a bloody grass native to China, has a bright red color when fully ripened. The fruit of S. gaudichaudiana from Australia is translucent white when fully ripened.
Bloody grass
Ginkgo fruit
Interested friends may wish to plant a tree, in addition to the flower viewing, but also to experience the food on the European table.
A cup of chilled elderflower syrup on a hot summer day is an excellent summer drink