"Elder be the Lady's tree, burn it not or cursed you'll be." The ancient pagans regarded the elder to be sacred to the moon goddess. It was believed in the olden times that if anyone cut an elder tree, the spirit of Elder mother would emerge and take her revenge. Hence the tree was considered unlucky.

But beliefs have largely changed with the march of time and now elder is regarded as one of the most popular types of plants. The flowers appear in clusters which blossom in the later part of spring and are white or cream in colour emitting a mild fragrance. The flowers are followed by bunches of tiny red, bluish or black berries. The pinnate leaves are arranged in an opposite manner with toothy margins.

Depending on the various species of elder, the plant can be either a shrub or a tree. Elder is abundantly found in the temperate to subtropical regions of both the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere and in parts of Australia and South America.

The plant is considered to be very useful. The flowers are used to make herbal teas which are effective for cold and fever. The famous elderberry wine is produced from the flowers and the berries