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| Sambucus racemosa | |
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| Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa flowers, Lithuania | |
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| Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa fruit, France | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Dipsacales |
| Family: | Adoxaceae |
| Genus: | Sambucus |
| Species: | S. racemosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Sambucus racemosa | |
| Subspecies[1] | |
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Sambucus racemosa is a species of elder known by the common names red-berried elder[2][3] and red elderberry.[4] It produces a red drupe.
The species is native across much of the Northern Hemisphere. The plant is largely poisonous when raw, but the fruit can be cooked for consumption.
Description
[edit]Sambucus racemosa is medium-sized shrub growing 2–4 m (7–13 ft) (rarely 6 m (20 ft)) tall. The stems are soft, with a broad pith.
Each individual leaf is composed of 5 to 7 leaflike leaflets, each of which is up to 4–8 cm (1+1⁄2–3+1⁄4 in) (rarely to 16 cm (6+1⁄4 in)) long, lance-shaped to narrowly oval, and irregularly serrated along the edges. The leaflets have a strong disagreeable scent when crushed.[5][6]
The inflorescence is a vaguely cone-shaped panicle 3–6 cm (1+1⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) 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 stamens tipped in yellow anthers. The flowers are fragrant and visited by flies (particularly hoverflies), hummingbirds and butterflies.[5][7]
The fruit is a bright red drupe (to purple-black in var. melanocarpa) containing 3 to 5 seeds. It is eaten by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.[8] 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 includes 8.3% carbohydrates and 9.0% lipids, which is one of the highest lipid values among European fleshy fruits.[9]
Varieties and subspecies
[edit]- Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa — Rocky Mountain elder, native to the Western United States and Western Canada, including the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada.[10][11][12]
- Sambucus racemosa var. microbotrys (Rydb.) Kearney & Peebles – Southwestern United States[13]
- Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens — American red elder, native to North America
- Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa — European red-berried elder.[14]
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).[15]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]It is native to Europe, northern temperate Asia, and North America across Canada and the United States.[15][1] It grows in riparian environments, woodlands, and other habitats, generally in moist areas.[7]
Cultivation
[edit]Sambucus racemosa is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a shrub or small tree in traditional and wildlife gardens, and natural landscape design projects.[7] The yellow-foliaged cultivars 'Plumosa Aurea' and 'Sutherland Gold' are widely grown in Britain.[3]
Cultivars
[edit]Cultivars in the nursery trade include:
- Sambucus racemosa 'SMNSRD4' Lemony Lace® — golden green foliage, with red new growth[16]
- Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold' — green foliage, with bronze new growth:[17] it has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[18][19]
Toxicity
[edit]The stems, roots and foliage are poisonous, and the fruit can be toxic or cause nausea if eaten raw.[7]
Uses
[edit]Although potentially poisonous when raw, the berries are reportedly safe to eat.[20] They were cooked in a variety of recipes by indigenous peoples, including by the Apache, Bella Coola, Gitxsan, Gosiute, Makah, Ojibwa, Quileute, Skokomish, Yurok peoples.[7]
The plant has been used as a traditional medicine by Native Americans, including the Bella Coola, Carrier, Gitksan, Hesquiaht, Menominee, Northern Paiute, Ojibwa, Paiute, Potawatomi, Tlingit, and Haida peoples.[7][21] The uses included as an emetic, antidiarrheal, cold and cough remedy, dermatological and gynecological aid.[21]
Images
[edit]-
Young leaves and flower buds of subsp. racemosa -
Inflorescence and foliage of subsp. pubens -
Clusters of berries of subsp. racemosa -
Fruit of var. melanocarpa -
Close-up of fruit of subsp. pubens
References
[edit]- ^ a b Sambucus racemosa was originally described and published in Species plantarum 1:270. 1753. "Sambucus racemosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
- ^ "Plants of the World Online". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ a b "PlantAtlas". PlantAtlas. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ NRCS. "Sambucus racemosa". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ a b Streeter, David (2010). Flower Guide. London: Collins. p. 452. ISBN 978-0-00-718389-0.
- ^ Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina: Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. pubens)
- ^ a b c d e f "Sambucus racemosa". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin.
- ^ Pojar, J. & A. MacKinnon. (1994). Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Lone Pine Publishing. ISBN 1-55105-042-0
- ^ Ehrlén & Eriksson 1991.
- ^ "Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa". Calflora. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database.
- ^ NRCS. "Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- ^ Jepson Flora Project (ed.). "Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa". Jepson eFlora. The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley.
- ^ Sambucus racemosa var. microbotrys (Rydb.) Kearney & Peebles. Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 2 February 2023.
- ^ "Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ a b "Plants of the World Online". Plants of the World Online. 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ Proven Winners.com: Sambucus racemosa Lemony Lace
- ^ Fine Gardening Magazine: Sambucus racemosa Sutherland Gold
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold'". Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 94. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC 1073035766.
- ^ a b University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany for Sambucus racemosa
Bibliography
[edit]- Ehrlén, Johan; Eriksson, Ove (1991). "Phenological variation in fruit characteristics in vertebrate-dispersed plants". Oecologia. 86 (4): 463–470. Bibcode:1991Oecol..86..463E. doi:10.1007/BF00318311. ISSN 0029-8549. PMID 28313326.
External links
[edit]
- Calflora
- Jepson eFlora, The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley
- "Taxon Sambucus racemosa profile". Burke Museum. Herbarium. University of Washington.
- Sambucus racemosa in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley