Australian Bush Tucker Bites presents Native Elderberry (Sambucus australasica).
The berries are yellow, but culinary uses align with the black berries and flowers of its European cousin. Fruit can be tart, like ours, or sweet or bitter. They can be used to make wines, cordials, jams, dessert crumbles, pies, and even syrup said to lessen length and intensity of cold and flu symptoms.
After extensive searching, I am unable to find any reference to Indigenous use of this plant. I think it’s safe to assume that it was consumed and perhaps used as a remedy for cold and flu symptoms.
One day I was weeding enthusiastically and talking to my son. In triumph, I pulled a huge weed! My triumph dissolved in a second, I had accidentally pulled out my Native Elderberry. I replanted and watered with seaweed solution. It survived. Phew! This plant is tough!
