''Sambucus cerulea'' or ''Sambucus nigra'' ssp. ''cerulea'', with the common names blue elderberry and blue elder, is a coarse textured

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

species of elder in the family

Adoxaceae Adoxaceae, commonly known as moschatel family, is a small family of flowering plants in the order Dipsacales, now consisting of five genera and about 150–200 species. They are characterised by opposite toothed leaves, small five- or, more rar ...

Description

''Sambucus cerulea'' is a large,

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub, which can grow to be in height and in width. It normally grows rather wildly from several stems, which can be heavily pruned (or even cut to the ground) during winter dormancy. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

are hairless, strongly pointed and sharp-toothed. They are elliptical to

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, and the blade extends unequally on the stalk at the base. The leaves are commonly long and wide. The white or creamy coloured flowers, occurring May to June, are numerous and form a flat-topped cluster usually about wide. They are

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' " ...

-shaped, normally with 4 to 5 rays extending from the base. The flowers have a strong, unpleasant odor. Individual flowers are wide. The fruits given are berry-like

drupes In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

. They are juicy, round, and approximately 4–6 mm in diameter. They are bluish-black, with a

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), gl ...

powder coating (helping to distinguish them from other elderberries), which lends them a pale powdery blue colour. Each fruit contains 3 to 5 small seed-like stones, each enclosing a single seed.

Taxonomy

The plant is classified by several different

botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Interna ...

s. Both the current

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

database and ''

The Jepson Manual ''The Jepson Manual'' is a flora of the vascular plants that are either native to or naturalized in California. Botanists often refer to the book simply as ''Jepson''. It is produced by the University and Jepson Herbaria, of the University of Cal ...

'' of California flora (2013) classify it as ''S. nigra'' subsp. ''cerulea''. The Sunset Western Garden Book identifies the plant as ''

Sambucus mexicana ''Sambucus mexicana'' may refer to the following North American black or blue elderberry species: *''Sambucus mexicana'' ::= ''Sambucus mexicana'' var. ''bipinnata'' ::= '' Sambucus canadensis'' ::= ''Sambucus nigra'' subsp. ''canadensis'' * ...

'', and note use of ''S. caerulea'' also. The botanist Victor King Chesnut (1867–1938) had classified it as ''S. glauca'' in 1902, when studying the plants used by the

Indigenous peoples of California The indigenous peoples of California (known as Native Californians) are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. ...

in Mendocino County.

Distribution and habitat

''S. cerulea'' is native to the Western United States, northwestern Mexico, and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. It is found from the Pacific coasts, through

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

and the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

, to

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colu ...

, Wyoming,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. This species grows at elevations below , in diverse

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of mountains and hills, valleys,

riparian zones A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

, open places in woodlands and forests, and exposed slopes where moisture is reachable.

Toxicity

The raw berries contain a toxin which, if eaten raw, may induce nausea in some people.

Uses

The flower blossoms can be used to make tea. The fruits can be eaten raw (despite containing a toxin), dried, or as jelly.

Native American

The

indigenous peoples of North America The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

with the plant in their homelands use the leaves, blossoms, bark, roots, and wood for preparing traditional medicinal remedies, taken internally or applied externally. The fresh, dried, and cooked berries are used for food. Some tribes used the wood to make musical instruments, such as flutes, clappers, and small whistles; and smoking implements. Soft wood was used as a spindle "twirling stick" to make fire by friction. The bark was used to produce a remedy for fever. Stems and berries were used as a dye for

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making basket ...

materials. The Concow tribe of the Mendocino region calls the plant nō-kōm-hē-i′-nē in the

Konkow language The Konkow language, also known as Northwest Maidu (also ''Concow-Maidu'', or ' in the language itself) is a part of the Maiduan language group. It is spoken in California. It is severely endangered, with three remaining elders who learned to ...

Cultivation

''S. nigra'' ssp. ''cerulea'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

, for planting in traditional,

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is e ...

, and habitat gardens. It is also used for

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural landsc ...

and

habitat restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrup ...

projects. It can become a multi-trunk tree when trained from youth with only several dominant trunks. The plant is beneficial in

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, rep ...

s, its flowers attract pollinators, butterflies and hummingbirds, and its berries feed other bird species and chipmunks.

Footnotes

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control cerulea Berries Bird food plants Butterfly food plants Drought-tolerant plants Garden plants of North America Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of British Columbia Flora of California Flora of New Mexico Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora without expected TNC conservation status