Scientific Name:

Sambucus racemosa

Similar Species:

Sambucus cerulea--Blue Elderberry (Flowers arranged into a flat, round cyme. Berries are blue.)

Family Name:

Honeysuckle Family

Habitat:

Moist places in both mixed forests & wetland forests.

Characteristics:

1. Large shrub, small tree, 6-25ft.

2. Compound-pinnate leaf, 5-9 leaflets per leaf.

3. Cyme (pyramid) of tiny white flowers.

4. Berries red-poisonous (especially seeds). Blue elderberries used in jams & wine.

Uses or Importances:

1. Poisonous bark.

2. Leaf (tannin) is antidote for nettle stings, bee stings, scrapes, & insect bites.

3. Stems hollow-once used for flutes & blowguns.

4. Important medicinal plant of early people.

Another view of Red Elderberry