196 FLOWERS OF THE ROADSIDES AND HEDGES 



The berries are small, black (hence nigra], with a purple interior, 

 rarely green or white, round. The seeds are flattened at the margin. 



The Elder is often as much as 15 ft. high. It flowers in June. It 

 is a deciduous tree, propagated by cuttings. 



The flowers contain no honey, but are strong-scented, and the 

 pollen is abundant. They are very conspicuous, forming inflorescences 

 sometimes a foot across. The stigma and anthers mature at the same 

 time. The stamens are widely spreading, and the anthers open out- 

 wards. Insects, chiefly flies and beetles, crawling over the flower 

 touch both anthers and stigma, and so may cause cross- or self-pollina- 

 tion. The anthers also may shed pollen upon the stigma, and the 

 flower is probably more usually self-pollinated than cross-pollinated. 



The visitors are Sar^us, Eristalis arbustorum, E. nemontm, E. 

 tenax, E. horticola, Volucella pellucens; Coleoptera, Cetonia aurata, 

 Trichius fasciatus. 



The fruit is edible, and the seeds are dispersed by animals, black- 

 birds and thrushes being very fond of them. Elder grows on clayey 

 and sandy soils. 



The Jew's Ear Fungus is especially partial to growing on the Elder. 

 It is often infested by Aphis Sambiici. A beetle, Anthobium sorbi, 

 Macropteryx albicincta, a Hymenoptera insect, and the Lepidoptera, 

 the Privet Hawk Moth, Sphinx ligustri, Arctia Caja, Tiger Moth, 

 Frosted Orange (Gortyna flavagd], Swallow-tailed Moth, Uropteryx 

 sambucata, Botys sambucalis, Faliaria lacertinaria, Beaded Chestnut, 

 Orthosia pistacina feed upon this common tree. 



Sambucus, Pliny, was the Latin name of the tree, and the second 

 Latin name refers to the colour of the fruit. The English name is 

 supposed to come from a root meaning hollow. 



It is called Acte, Alderne, Arntree, Baw-tree, Bertery, Boon-tree, 

 Boortree, Bootry, Bore, Boretice, Borral, Bothery-tree, Bohtry, Boun- 

 tree, Bourtree, Boutree, Bull-tree, Bur-tree, Buttery, Devil's Wood, 

 Dogtree, Elder, Elderberry, Eldern, Ellar, Ellarne, Ellen-tree, Eller, 

 Ellern, Ellet, Elnorne, Elren, Hilder, Hillerne, Hydul-tree, Hylder, 

 Judas Tree, Parsley Elder, Skaw, Whitaller, Whusselwood, Winter 

 Berries. 



Because of the tradition that Judas hanged himself upon it it was 

 called Judas Tree. Like Bothery-tree, the toy pop-guns made from 

 the branches are called bothery-guns. Of Bourtree, Prior says: "It 

 seems to have received its name from its being hollow within, and 

 thence easily bored by thrusting out the pulp ". 



The Elder is said to have been the tree the cross was made of. It 



