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- Sambucus racemosa
Sambucus racemosa — red elderberry
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Facts
Red elderberry is a tall shrub that grows best in forest openings; its seeds can remain dormant for many years until a gap opens and stimulates germination, sometimes on "nurse logs." It can also stump-sprout from the root crown following cutting or fire. Birds and mammals (such as bears, raccoons, and mice) favor the juicy fruits and disperse them widely. Porcupines and snowshoe hares nibble the bark in winter. The leaves are bitter and contain a cyanogenic glycoside chemical, which is toxic to humans but does not deter deer and other ungulates. Red elderberry is planted on streamsides to control erosion.
Habitat
Forest edges, forests, ridges or ledges, talus and rocky slopes, woodlands
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 150–300 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud position relative to scar
- the winter bud has a leaf scar just below it
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Leaf scar arrangement
- there are two leaf scars per node on the stem or twig
- Pseudoterminal bud
- there are no pseudoterminal buds on the tips of the branches
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
- Terminal bud
- there is no terminal bud on the branch
- Winter bud distribution
- the winter buds are distributed fairly evenly along the twig
- Winter bud scale hairs
- the winter bud scales have no hairs on them
- Winter bud scales
- the winter bud is perulate (partially or completely covered with one or more scales)
- Winter bud shape
- the winter buds are ovoid (egg-shaped)
- Winter bud stalks
- the winter buds have no stalks
-
Flowers
- Anther color
- the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
-
- white
- yellow or green
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence position
- the inflorescences grow on the twigs
- Inflorescence type
-
- the inflorescence is a dichasial cyme (an axis with a terminal flower, below it a pair of branches, each with a terminal flower, these branches may in turn each have a pair of branches and so on)
- the inflorescence is a panicle (branched with the individual flowers on stalks)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Sepal tip glands
- there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
- Sepals fused only to sepals
- the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases
- Stamen number
- 5
- Stamen position relative to petals
- the stamens are lined up with the sepals (antesepalous)
- Stamens fused
- the stamens are not fused to one another
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
-
- NA
- red
- yellow
- Fruit tissue origin
- there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on underside of leaf blade
- the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- Leaf blade base symmetry
- the leaf blade base is symmetrical
- Leaf blade bloom
- the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
- the hairs on the leaf blade are different from the choices given
- Leaf blade length
- 150–300 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
- the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade vein pattern
- the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)
- Leaf blade veins
- the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf form
- the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
- the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf stalk shape
- the leaf stalk is not flattened
- Leaf teeth
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaf is compound, with a single terminal leaflet and more than two additional leaflets
- Stipules
- there are no stipules on the plant, or they fall off as the leaf expands
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- forests
- ridges or ledges
- talus or rocky slopes
- woodlands
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are clearly lenticels on the twigs
- Pith shape
- the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
- Pith type
- the pith inside the twig is solid, completely filled with spongy tissue
- Short shoots
- there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
- Twig bloom
- there is no bloom on the twig
- Twig hairs
-
- the twigs have few or no hairs on them
- the twigs have hairs, but the hairs do not have glands
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig scales
- there are no scales on the twig surface
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- present
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- widespread (S-rank: S5)
- Rhode Island
- historical (S-rank: SH), state historical (code: SH)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
2. Sambucus racemosa L. N
red elderberry. Sambucus pubens Michx.; S. racemosa L. ssp. pubens (Michx.) House; S. racemosa L. var. pubens (Michx.) Koehne • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Forests, edges, forest openings, wooded slopes, ridges, edges of talus.
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Sambucus nigra:
- mature fruits purple-black and pith of branches white (vs. S. racemosa, with the mature fruits red and pith of branches orange-brown).
Synonyms
- Sambucus pubens Michx.
- Sambucus racemosa ssp. pubens (Michx.) House
- Sambucus racemosa var. pubens (Michx.) Koehne