Sambucus nigra

Plant Characteristics

Habit		tree
Height:	⇕	8 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 8. to 30 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 30.
Width:	⇔	10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. to 20 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 20.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Poisonous:	☠	see text
Bloom:	❀	early spring, mid spring, late spring, early summer, mid summer, late summer

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	deciduous, flowers, edible
USDA Zones:		5 to 10
Flower features:	❀	white

Scientific Names

Caprifoliaceae >

Sambucus >

nigra >

L. >

Sambucus nigra is a species complex of elder native to most of Europe , northwest Africa southwest Asia, and western North America.

It is most commonly called Elder, Elderberry, Black Elder, European Elder, European Elderberry, European Black Elderberry, Common Elder, or Elder Bush when distinction from other species of Sambucus is needed. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations.

It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 4–6 m (rarely to 10 m) tall. The bark, light grey when young, changes to a coarse grey outer bark with lengthwise furrowing. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, 10–30 cm long, pinnate with five to seven (rarely nine) leaflets, the leaflets 5–12 cm long and 3–5 cm broad, with a serrated margin.

The hermaphrodite flowers are borne in large corymbs 10–25 cm diameter in mid summer, the individual flowers white, 5–6 mm diameter, with five petals; they are pollinated by flies.

The fruit is a dark purple to black berry 3–5 mm diameter, produced in drooping clusters in the late autumn; they are an important food for many fruit-eating birds, notably Blackcaps.

Toxicity: The dark blue/purple berries can be eaten when fully ripe but are mildly poisonous in their unripe state. . All green parts of the plant are poisonous, containing cyanogenic glycosides (Vedel & Lange 1960). The seeds of red elderberries are toxic and must be removed before eating red elderberries or food products from red elderberries. The berries are edible after cooking and can be used to make jam, jelly, chutney and Pontack sauce. Also when cooked they go well with blackberries and with apples in pies.

Read about Sambucus nigra in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Sambucus nigra, Linn. European Elder. Large shrub or tree, to 30 ft., with deeply furrowed bark: all parts when bruised exhaling a disagreeable odor: branches gray, strongly lenticellate: lvs. dark green, usually pubescent beneath while young; lfts. 3-7, usually 5, short-stalked, elliptic, acute, serrate, 2-6 in. long: cymes 5-rayed, to 5 in. across: fr. black, lustrous, 3- celled, 1/4-1/3 in. across. May, June: fr. Aug., Sept. Eu., W. Afr., W. Asia. Many varieties: Var. pyramidata, Lav. (var. pyramidalis, Dipp.). Habit columnar. Var. pendula, Dipp. Pendulous or prostrate. Var. nana, Schwerin. Forming a globose bush about 3 ft. high; weak-growing. Var. rotundifolia, Endl. Lfts. 3, rarely 5, broadly ovate to suborbicular. Var. laciniata, Willd. (S. laciniata, Mill.). Lfts. regularly and finely dissected. R.F.G. 12:780. A handsome and distinct form. Var. heterophylla, Endl. (var. linearis, Kirchn.). Lfts. irregularly cut and erose and partly reduced to the midrib; slow-growing form. Var. latisecta, Hesse. Lvs. broadly lobed. Var. albo-variegata, Endl. Lvs. variegated with white. Var. pulverulenta, Sweet. Lvs. finely dotted and sprinkled with white. Var. aurea, Sweet. Lvs. golden yellow. Var. viridis, Ait. (var. chlorocarpa, Hayne. Var. virescens, Sweet). Fr. pale green, striped whitish. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Pests and diseases

Like other elderberries, Sambucus nigra is subject to Elder whitewash fungus.

Elder Whitewash fungus (Hyphodontia sambuci)].

Varieties

Some selections and cultivars have variegated or coloured leaves and other distinctive qualities, and are grown by the horticultural industry for public landscapes and private gardens.

Gallery

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Sambucus nigra. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Sambucus nigra QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)