''Sambucus racemosa'' is a species of elder known by the common names red-berried elder and red elderberry. It is native across much of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

Description

''Sambucus racemosa'' is medium-sized

shrub A shrub or 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 trees by their multiple ...

growing (rarely ) tall. The stems are soft, with a broad

pith Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stems of vascular plants. Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which in some cases can store starch. In eudicotyledons, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocotyledons, it ex ...

. Each individual leaf is composed of 5 to 7 leaflike leaflets, each of which is up to (rarely to ) long, lance-shaped to narrowly oval, and irregularly serrated along the edges. The leaflets have a strong disagreeable scent when crushed.Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina: Red Elderberry (''Sambucus racemosa'' var. ''pubens'')
/ref> The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a vaguely cone-shaped

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

diameter, consisting of several cymes of flowers and produced on the ends of stem branches. The flower buds are pink when closed, and the open flowers are white, cream, or yellowish. Each flower has small, recurved petals and a star-shaped axis of five white

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s tipped in yellow anthers. The flowers are fragrant and visited by

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

(particularly

hoverflies Hoverflies, also called flower flies or syrphids, make up the insect family (biology), family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen Hover (behaviour), hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed main ...

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

s and

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

. The fruit is a bright red

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

(to purple-black in var. ''melanocarpa'') containing 3 to 5 seeds. It is eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.Pojar, J. & A. MacKinnon. (1994). ''Plants of the Pacific Northwest''. Lone Pine Publishing. Its fruit persists for an average of 42.5 days, and bears an average of 3.0 seeds per fruit. Fruits average 88.0% water, and their

dry weight Vehicle weight is a measurement of wheeled motor vehicles; either an actual measured weight of the vehicle under defined conditions or a gross weight rating for its weight carrying capacity. Curb or kerb weight Curb weight (American English) or k ...

includes 8.3%

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

s and 9.0%

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

s, which is one of the highest lipid values among European fleshy fruits.

Varieties and subspecies

* ''Sambucus racemosa'' var. ''melanocarpa'' — Rocky Mountain elder, native to the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

and

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

, including the

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

s and

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

. * ''Sambucus racemosa'' var. ''microbotrys'' (Rydb.) Kearney & Peebles – Southwestern United States * ''Sambucus racemosa'' subsp. ''pubens'' — American red elder, native to North America * ''Sambucus racemosa'' subsp. ''racemosa'' — European red-berried elder. Other subspecies formerly included in ''S. racemosa'' include ''S. racemosa'' subsp. ''kamtschatica'' (now '' Sambucus kamtschatica''), ''S. racemosa'' subsp. ''sibirica'' (now '' Sambucus sibirica''), and ''S. racemosa'' subsp. ''sieboldiana'' (now '' Sambucus sieboldiana'').

Distribution and habitat

It is native to Europe, northern temperate Asia, and North America across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It grows in

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

environments,

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s, and other

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

s, generally in moist areas.

Toxicity

The stems, roots and foliage are

poisonous A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

, and the berries can be toxic or cause nausea if eaten raw.

Uses

It has been used as a

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

by Native Americans, including the Bella Coola, Carrier, Gitksan, Hesquiaht,

Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...

Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three languages do not form a single subgroup and th ...

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

, Tlingit, and Haida peoples.University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany for '' Sambucus racemosa''
/ref> The uses included as an

emetic Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, preg ...

, antidiarrheal, cold and cough remedy, dermatological and gynecological aid.

Food

The fruit is reportedly safe to eat when cooked, but are potentially poisonous when raw. They were cooked in a variety of recipes by indigenous peoples, including by the

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

, Bella Coola,

Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan and Kitksan) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English (: means "people of" and : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory enco ...

, Gosiute,

Makah The Makah (; Makah: ') are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast living in Washington, in the northwestern part of the continental United States. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah I ...

, Ojibwa,

Quileute The Quileute () are a Native American people in western Washington state in the United States, with 808 enrolled citizens in 2018. They are a federally recognized tribe: the ''Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation''. The Quileute people ...

, Skokomish,

Yurok The Yurok people are an Algic-speaking Indigenous people of California that has existed along the or "Health-kick-wer-roy" (now known as the Klamath River) and on the Pacific coast, from Trinidad south of the Klamath’s mouth almost to Cresc ...

peoples.

Cultivation

''Sambucus racemosa'' 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 th ...

, for use as a

or small tree in traditional and

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or habitat garden or backyard restoration) is an Biophysical environment, environment created with the purpose to serve as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater t ...

s, and

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture. The natural landscape and the cultural landscape are separate parts of the landscape. However, in the 21st century, landscapes that are totally ...

design projects. The yellow-foliaged

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s 'Plumosa Aurea' and 'Sutherland Gold' are widely grown in Britain.

Cultivars

Cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s in the nursery trade include: *''Sambucus racemosa'' 'SMNSRD4' Lemony Lace® — golden green foliage, with red new growth *''Sambucus racemosa'' 'Sutherland Gold' — green foliage, with bronze new growth: it has received the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Images

File:Sambucus racemosa 1567.JPG, Fruit of subsp. ''pubens'', ( Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest) File:Sambucus_racemosa_6269.JPG, Inflorescence and foliage of subsp. ''pubens'' File:0 Sambucus racemosa - Vallorcine.JPG, Young leaves and flowerbuds of subsp. ''racemosa'' File:Sambucus racemosa ies.jpg, Clusters of berries of subsp. ''racemosa'' File:Sambucus racemosa melanocarpa 151656864.jpg, Fruit of var. ''melanocarpa''

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q157276 racemosa Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Flora of Canada Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of the Western United States Flora of California Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Berries Bird food plants Butterfly food plants Edible plants Garden plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status