In the 18th century, it was treated with remedies such as vinegar, wine, elder flower and even turpentine.

The English chefs also had a penchant for using flower petals such as roses, violets, and elder flowers.

Banouin mixed some ground seeds with powdered camomile and elder flower, then added it to a goblet of water.

Then a guide appears at the gate and leads you down a path garlanded with honeysuckle and elder flower.

My mistress needs dried elder flowers and an elixir of coltsfoot.

To the apothecary's for some elder flowers and hyssop-Franciscus has a cough now that it's cold again.

Robin Bennet, an herbalist in Manhattan, points out that like sage, peppers and peppermint, elder flower tea can also raise body temperature.

The adults can be encountered from June (hence the Latin word junii) through July on flowers, especially on elder flowers (Sambucus species).

These vary from area to area, but mostly include fennel, rue, rosemary, lemon verbena, mallows, laburnum, foxgloves and elder flowers.