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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Sambucus racemosa

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  • From: Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Sambucus racemosa
  • Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 20:12:26 -0700

The book Plants of Coastal British Columbia, including Washington, Oregon and Alaska, by Pojar and MacKinnon has a lot of ethnobotanical information.

This is what it says of Sambucus racemosa ssp pubens var. arborescens, which grows along the coast from Alaska to Oregon:

a highly important food for the peoples of the central and northern coast, though few people use them today. They should always be cooked, as raw berries may cause nausea. They were sometimes boiled to make a sauce or cooked with the stems intact. The stems and seeds were discarded later. The berries make an excellent, tangy jelly, and some people make wine from them, but they should always be cooked for this purpose. Caches of red elderberries have been found in archaeological sites dating back hundreds of years. The stems, bark, leaves and roots, especially in fresh plants, are toxic due to the presence of cyanide-producing glycosides.

Diane Whitehead Victoria, B.C. who likes Oregon grape for tangy jelly, and hasn't tried red elderberry.




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