SAMBUCUS NIGRA
Family and Genus:- See- Viburnaceae
Common Names:- Elder, Elderberry, Black elder, European elder, European
elderberry, and European black elderberry.
Homotypic Synonyms:- Sambucus florida.
Meaning:- Sambucus (L) Latin for the elder tree.
Nigra (L) Black.
General description:- Shrub or small tree , with brownish-grey, grooved or
furrowed, corky bark and whitish pith.
Stems:-
1) Up to 10 m, often with vigorous, erect shoots from the base, branches often
arching.
Leaves:-
1) Leaflets, 5-7(-9), 4·5-12(-18) x 2-6(-10) cm, ovate, ovate-lanceolate or ovate-
elliptical, accuminate, margins serrate, sparsely pubescent beneath.
2) Stipules, absent or very small, subulate.
Flower:-
1) Inflorescence, 10-24 cm diam, corymbose, with (4-)5 primary rays.
2) Corolla, white.
3) Anthers, yellowish-white.
Fruit:-
1) Drupe, with 3-5 compressed, cartilaginous pyrenes, globose, black (very rarely
red).
Key features:-
1) Shrubs or small trees
2) Stipules, absent or very small.
3) Inflorescence, corymbose.
4) Fruit, usually black.
5) Pith, whitish.
Habitat:- Grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils,
primarily in sunny locations. Widely grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree.
Distribution:- Fairly widespread and common throughout the Mediterranean.
Widespread in Europe.
Flowering time:- Late Apr to July.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton