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Black Elder: harmful if eaten?
I recently bought a Black Elder (Sambucus niger) for friend who's growing a bird- friendly garden. She also has two dogs, one a puppy. She was concerned to read on the label that the plant is "harmful if eaten". Since both elder flowers and elderberries are a food, what's harmful? Is it the bark or sap, or something else? Or simply over-cautious labelling. -- Andy Mabbett Say "NO!" to compulsory ID Cards: http://www.no2id.net/ |
#2
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Black Elder: harmful if eaten?
In message , Andy Mabbett
writes I recently bought a Black Elder (Sambucus niger) for friend who's growing a bird- friendly garden. She also has two dogs, one a puppy. She was concerned to read on the label that the plant is "harmful if eaten". Since both elder flowers and elderberries are a food, what's harmful? Is it the bark or sap, or something else? Or simply over-cautious labelling. There was a thread here on the topic recently. Elderberries contain cyanogenic glucosides, from which cyanide is produced. Google for sambunigrin. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
#3
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Black Elder: harmful if eaten?
Andy Mabbett wrote:
I recently bought a Black Elder (Sambucus niger) for friend who's growing a bird- friendly garden. She also has two dogs, one a puppy. She was concerned to read on the label that the plant is "harmful if eaten". Since both elder flowers and elderberries are a food, what's harmful? Is it the bark or sap, or something else? Or simply over-cautious labelling. (From memory of some research I did whilst wondering what to do with the 20lbs of elderberries I picked last autumn.) AFAIR, pretty much all parts of most varieties of Elder are toxic to some degree. Sambucus niger has berries that are toxic when unripe, and stems, leaves, bark etc. are also toxic. Some of the other varieties of Elder have very unpleasant tasting fruit and one (Red Elder, I think?) has poisonous fruit. Anyhow, I've made some elderberry wine and some elderberry ice-cream and it doesn't seem to have done me any ha |
#4
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Black Elder: harmful if eaten?
On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:52:40 +0000, Andy Mabbett
wrote: I recently bought a Black Elder (Sambucus niger) for friend who's growing a bird- friendly garden. She also has two dogs, one a puppy. She was concerned to read on the label that the plant is "harmful if eaten". Since both elder flowers and elderberries are a food, what's harmful? Is it the bark or sap, or something else? Or simply over-cautious labelling. Andy Mabbett? Now there's a name from the past to bring an attack of the horrors to people |
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