Sambucus canadensis
Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis
- Phonetic Spelling
- sam-BOO-kus kan-ah-DEN-sis
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
-
American Elderberry is a shrub that may grow 9 to 12 feet tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnately compound (5 to 11 leaflets) with a toothed margin. The bark is smooth and brown becoming shallowly furrowed and rough with age. In summer, small, white flowers are borne in dense, flat-topped clusters. The tall shrub produces a purple-black drupe that matures in late summer. Fruit, like flowers, are borne in dense, flat-topped clusters.
The American elderberry grows best in medium to wet, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It tolerates a wide range of soils but prefers moist, humusy ones. It spreads by root suckers to form colonies. Prune suckers as they appear unless naturalizing. A large number of late winter pruning options include (a) pruning out dead or weakened stems, (b) shortening one year stems or (c) cutting back to the ground to rejuvenate. Some horticulturists recommend a hard spring pruning for maintaining the best foliage and habit. More than one genetic strain needed for fruit set.
Habitat: Streambanks, thickets, marshes, moist forests, disturbed areas
Fire Risk: This plant has a low flammability rating.
Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: This plant has no serious insect or disease problems. It has some susceptibility to canker, powdery mildew, leaf spot, borers, spider mites, and aphids. Its branches are susceptible to damage from high winds or from heavy snow/ice in winter. Plants will spread by root suckers.
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Aurea'
- 'Rubra'
- 'Aurea'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Aurea'
- 'Rubra'
- 'Aurea'
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Sambucus
- Species:
- canadensis
- Family:
- Adoxaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Edible fruit when cooked. The twigs and fruit of Elderberry have been used to create dyes for basketry.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- North America, Venezuela and Brazil
- Fire Risk Rating:
- low flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- Butterflies and other insects are attracted to the blooms. Its fruits are eaten by mammals and many species of songbirds, including the western bluebird, indigo bunting, common house finch, red-shafted flicker, ash-throated flycatcher, black-headed grosbeak, scrub jay, Stellar jay, ruby-crowned kinglet, mockingbird, red-breasted nuthatch, Bullock’s oriole, hooded oriole, song sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, western tanager, California thrasher, russet-backed thrush, brown towhee, Audubon warbler, cedar waxwing, Lewis and Nuttall's woodpecker, wren-tit, grouse, pheasant, and pigeons.
- Play Value:
- Attracts Pollinators
- Edible fruit
- Wildlife Food Source
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Resistant to heat, drought, and soil compaction.
- Edibility:
- Cooked berries edible in pies, pancakes, and jellies; flowers and fruits used in winemaking. Avoid washing the flowers since it removes their sweet flavor. Use flowers to make a syrup to use in drinks, marmalade, yogurt, and desserts. SAFE HANDLING PROCEDURES: When flowers are open, pick whole clusters and dip in pancake batter and fry, or dip in pancake batter and fry as fritters. Elderberry juice can be used as a cold drink. SOURCE: Peterson, L. 1978/ A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 330 pp.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 9 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Poisonous
- Shrub
- Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Arching
- Multi-stemmed
- Open
- Spreading
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- Usda Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Purple/Lavender
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Clusters of edible, purplish-black drupes display from June to August. Fruits of elderberry species are used to make jams, jellies, pie fillings and wine.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Cyme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Star
- Flower Petals:
- 6 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Tiny, lemon-scented, creamy-white flowers that appear in large flat-topped clusters (cymes to 10” across) from April to July.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- The American elderberry has opposite, course, compound dark green leaves, 5 to 11 leaflets, sharply serrated. It shows a yellow-green fall color.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Light Brown
- Surface/Attachment:
- Smooth
- Bark Description:
- smooth and brown becoming shallowly furrowed and rough with age
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Riparian
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Edible Garden
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Rain Garden
- Design Feature:
- Flowering Tree
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Hummingbirds
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Fire
- Problems:
- Poisonous to Humans
- Weedy
