Living Lightly
45. The Esteemed Elders
May
is a luscious month in the Central Valley—a time of wild, profuse flowering and
seed-making and of mysterious nocturnal rituals of pollination. Along the San
Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers, and along Dry Creek in Modesto, May is drifts of
blooming elderberries (Sambucus mexicana/caerulea), their fragrant,
cream-colored flowers visible against the dusky green foliage, even in the dark.
The elderberry genus has a long history of human use that dates back to at least
two millennia: its flowers, fruit, bark and roots have given people food,
medicine, musical instruments, and even clothing. The Greek word sambuke means
musical instrument made of elder wood, and there is an echo of it in sambuca, a
licorice-flavored Italian liqueur made from elderberries. Add to this list of
contributions, habitat for native pollinators and for an endangered beetle, and
you have a hospitable shrub with an impressive nutritional resume.
Here is a lovely passage on elder by Judith Lowry:
The sweetly fragrant white flower panicles of the blue elderberry, pollinated by
bees and other insects, face the sun till the weight of the ripening berry crop
causes them to turn over and droop toward the ground. White bloom on the blue
black berries makes them appear pale blue, “elderberry blue.” Many people prefer
eating them when baked in pies or dried. Elderberries make small, intensely
flavored raisins, loaded with polyphenols, those protective plant chemicals
associated with plant pigments with which we evolved. The sun seems to sweeten
the berries inland, but our coastal blues have a rich, unique flavor and make
excellent pies. Many indigenous peoples across the continent ate of the genus’s
bounty. Dozens of birds love elderberries, and in some parts of California,
mountain quail are expected to come down to the valleys and flatlands when the
elderberries are ripe.
And it was not just the quail who observed elderberry undergoing seasonal
changes. Kat Anderson writes that Coastal Pomo people would stop “gathering
clams and other shellfish as soon as elderberry shrubs flowered. When there were
ripe elderberries, they knew it was time again to harvest shellfish.” In season,
people made syrups, sauces, preserves, or wine from the berries, and delicious
fritters dipped in pancake batter from the flower panicles. “Elderberries,”
writes Anderson, “…are loaded with calcium, phosphorus and iron and contain
three times the vitamin A found in peaches.”
In a garden, elder can be shaped into a shrub or small tree. It has thirsty
roots (no berries without access to some summer water); “smelly” leaves (Glenn
Keator writes that they remind some people of peanut butter!) prized for their
medicinal value (crush them to relieve insect or nettle stings); and pithy
shoots perfect for hollowing into flutes, whistles and clapper sticks. Keator
lists California buckeye (Aesculus californica) and redbud (Cercis occidentalis)
as good garden companions for elders. In my backyard the elderberry flower
clusters compete in extravagance with tall candles of buckeye flowers,
pollinated by large native carpenter bees. Here is another passage from Lowry on
the habitat value of elderberries:
Shrubs with soft, pithy centers are sought after by many solitary bees, so
planting elderberry makes sense, and not just to bees.
The endangered valley long-horned elderberry beetle requires elderberry to
survive; its larvae favor the soft interior of elderberry’s twigs, through which
they tunnel, leaving good runways that solitary bees can later partition off to
make their individual nurseries.
In the West, elderberry is often found on some of the most ancient sites of
human habitation and burial. “The flowers, fruit, bark, and roots of elderberry
species have been used extensively throughout the world” write Steven Foster and
Christopher Hobbs. “Preparations [were] used for skin conditions, to lower
fevers, and treat colds and flu. Recent laboratory and clinical studies show
that elderberry fruit extracts are protective against different strains of the
flu virus, thus supporting traditional use.” Renowned herbalist James Duke notes
that elderberry is currently being studied for activity against HIV.
In poultice, salve, or tea, the elders helped people stay healthy. “Work on the
chemistry and pharmacology of elderberry is still preliminary,” write Foster and
Hobbs. “The plant is complex, containing bioactive proteins…in varying degrees,
depending on the species variety and plant part. Proven biological effects
include antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, diuretic, hypotensive,
anti-inflammatory, and liver-protective properties.” I looked around my house
and found: Elderberry Flower Drink Concentrate (Sweden), Sambucol syrup from
Black Elderberry berries (Israel), Elderberry Liquid Extract from the Berry and
Flower (California), and the berry or flower in a number of other
immune-building herbal complexes.
But what would food and medicine be without music? Donald Culross Peattie
observes that the elder’s “pithy stems furnish the country boy with whistle
wood.” California Indians harvested stems at specific ages from the “tree of
music” for use as flutes (1-3 years) and clapper sticks (1-4 years). Peattie
writes that stems were harvested green in early spring, leaves left on, after
which “four flute holes were bored with a red-hot stick, but at random, so that
no two flutes had the same scale.” Bob Powers describes Tubatulabal men cutting
26-inch sections, poking out the pith with sticks and then cutting six holes in
the side. He gives very precise measurements for placement of the holes.
Few sources mention another traditional use of inner elderberry bark: as
material for a skirt. Paul Campbell’s book features photographs of Manuela
Aguiar wetting and splitting strips of the inner white bark of a Mexican
elderberry killed by fire. She assured the author that elderberry was the very
best material for this work as the inner bark of willow and juniper became
brittle. The skirt adjusted to fit the wearer.
Food, drink, dye, medicine, clothing, music: what more could a “ruderal little
tree” do for us?
Sources: M. Kat Anderson, Tending the Wild; Paul D. Campbell, Survival Skills of
Native California; James A. Duke, The Green Pharmacy; Steven Foster and
Christopher Hobbs, Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs; Glenn Keator, Complete
Garden Guide to the Native Shrubs of California; Judith Lowry, The Landscaping
Ideas of Jays; Bob Powers, Indian Country of the Tubatulabal.
In California, more than 30,000
types of insects are known. In spring, it may seem that most of them are in your
backyard. This is because warm temperatures are ideal for many insect
lifecycles. After just a few warm days, large populations can hatch and inhabit
fruit trees, shrubs and vegetable beds. Aphids, for example, may seem to
multiply overnight. Hoplia beetles are another insect frequently seen in the
garden, especially on light colored roses.
While trying to eliminate these pests from your garden, remember that other
insects live there too, and frequently consume insect pests. The use of
insecticides, even organic ones, may have a negative impact on beneficials.
Always read labels carefully, and avoid spraying when beneficial insects such as
honeybees are active.
The number of destructive insects in general is actually quite small in
comparison with those that are beneficial or neutral. Beneficial insects eat
pests, pollinate crops and decompose waste material. These insects include
ladybugs, preying mantids, spiders, assassin bugs, and ground beetles.
Beneficial insects feed in two ways: predation or parasitism. Predation is the
method most gardeners are familiar with, the typical ladybug eating an aphid.
Parasitism is not as easy to spot. To find an example, observe that same
population of aphids, but look closer. If you see small, round, papery-thin
objects with a tiny hole, you’ve spotted an example of parasitism. This remnant
was actually an aphid, and is now known as a “mummy.” When it was alive, this
aphid was parasitized by a tiny wasp (not the same kind that inflicts a painful
sting). The wasp laid an egg inside the aphid, the egg hatched, fed on the aphid
from inside, and then crawled out, leaving a small exit hole. To see an example
of parasitized aphids, go to the UC IPM website online at:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/M/I-HO-MPER-AM.001.html
Spiders are another creature commonly found in the garden, and sometimes the
house. They are not considered insects, but are classed as arachnids. Spiders
are excellent predators and can be very helpful in the garden. Two “spiders”
that are often confused are the harvestman (not a true spider) and the cellar
spider. To see photos go to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tr33lo/209901246/ and
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/ib/109/Insect%20rearing/photos/cellar%20spider.jpg
Both of these creatures are reputed to have poisonous venom, which is not true.
The harvestman does not have venom, and the cellar spider’s venom is harmless to
humans.
ACTION: I will teach a basic entomology class for teachers and school garden
coordinators on Monday, June 16, 2008 from 8:30 am to noon at the Stanislaus
County Ag Center, corner of Service and Crows Landing Roads in Modesto in the
Stanislaus Building, Rooms H & I, I. The cost of the Class cost is $10 for
materials and a light breakfast. Sign up at:
http://cestanislaus.ucdavis.edu/Gardening/Offered_Classes.htm. Or e-mail me
for information at
aschellman@ucdavis.edu
A two-year study released by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal
Production (PCIFAP) concluded that factory farms pose unacceptable risks to
public health, the environment and animal welfare. The Commission's
recommendations include a phase-out of "the most intensive and inhumane
confinement practices," including chaining veal calves by the neck, cramming
egg-laying hens in cages where each has less space than a letter-sized sheet of
paper, and keeping pigs in metal cages barely larger than their bodies—the three
abuses that a pending anti-cruelty California ballot initiative seeks to phase
out over the next six years.
The California Secretary of State recently certified the Prevention of Farm
Animal Cruelty Act for the November ballot. The measure will provide basic
protection to animals confined in California factory farms: that they merely be
able to turn around and extend their limbs. It is supported by Californians for
Humane Farms, sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States, Farm
Sanctuary and other animal protection groups, family farmers, environmental
groups such as the Sierra Club, veterinarians and public health professionals.
Experts brought together by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health concluded that "Intensive confinement (e.g.
gestation crates for swine, battery cages for laying hens) often so severely
restricts movement and natural behaviors, such as the ability to walk or lie on
natural materials, having enough floor space to move with some freedom, and
rooting for pigs, that it increases the likelihood that the animals suffer
severe distress."
"Pew's esteemed panel of scientists, veterinary school officials, ranchers, and
public officials has emphatically recommended moving away from cages and crates
on factory farms, and that's exactly what our proposed ballot initiative
prescribes for California," stated Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The
Humane Society of the United States. "It is cruel and inhumane to confine
animals in cages so small they can barely move for nearly their whole lives, nor
are these confinement systems good for public health or the environment. The
panel's recommendations come at a perfect time as Californians consider this
ballot measure."
Facts:
• Veal crates are narrow wooden enclosures that prevent calves from turning
around or lying down comfortably. The calves are typically chained by their
necks and suffer immensely.
• California factory farms confine millions of egg-laying hens in barren battery
cages that are so small, the birds can't even spread their wings.
• During their four-month pregnancies, thousands of female breeding pigs in
California are confined in barren gestation crates—individual metal enclosures
only two feet wide. The crates are so small that the animals cannot even turn
around.
• In California and across the country, restaurants, producers, and
retailers—including Safeway, Burger King, Carl's Jr. and Hardees, Wolfgang Puck,
Smithfield Foods, San Francisco State University, and UC Berkeley—are moving
away from supporting crates and cages on factory farms.
• According to the industry's own California-based economist, complying with the
initiative would cost producers less than one penny per egg.
View the complete report at
http://www.ncifap.org