Sambucus racemosa L.
red elderberry (black elder (var. melanocarpa); black elderberry; coastal red elder (var. arborescens); coastal red elderberry; eastern red elder (var. leucocarpa); eastern red elderberry)
Adoxaceae (Honeysuckle family)
(Previously in Caprifoliaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
red elderberry (black elder (var. melanocarpa); black elderberry; coastal red elder (var. arborescens); coastal red elderberry; eastern red elder (var. leucocarpa); eastern red elderberry)
Adoxaceae (Honeysuckle family)
(Previously in Caprifoliaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Deciduous, erect, large shrub, 1-6 m tall; twigs thick, soft, pithy, usually somewhat glaucous; bark dark reddish-brown, warty.
Leaves:
Opposite, stalked, large, compound, pinnately divided into 5-7 elliptic to lanceolate leaflets, often asymmetric at the base, abruptly sharp-pointed at the tip, saw-toothed on the margins, and usually somewhat hairy beneath.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of numerous, small flowers in a 4-10 cm long, egg-shaped to conical cluster with short lateral branches on a stronger central axis; corollas white or cream, wheel-shaped; petals fused at base into a short flat tube that spreads (3-6 mm across) at the top to 5 lobes, the lobes longer than the tubes and becoming reflexed.
Fruits:
Berrylike, globose, 5-6 mm across, shiny red or purplish-black, occasionally brown, yellow, or whitish, but not glaucous, with 3 small, smooth to wrinkled or pebbled stones, each enclosing a seed.
Notes:
Three varieties of this North American subspecies occur in BC. Fruits black or purplish-black; nutlets slightly wrinkled or pebbly var. melanocarpa (A. Gray) McMinn. Fruits bright red (sometimes yellow or white); nutlets mostly smooth or slightly wrinkled or pebbly. Nutlets mostly smooth; plants 2-6 m tall var. arborescens (T.& G.) A. Gray. Nutlets slightly wrinkled or pebbly; plants 0.5-3 m tall
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Sambucus racemosa
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
768 | 0 | 2245 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | 0 | 125 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
0 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
2784 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(4), BG(2), BWBS(4), CDF(84), CMA(1), CWH(957), ESSF(584), ICH(468), IDF(50), IMA(1), MH(26), MS(75), PP(2), SBPS(2), SBS(364) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to mesic meadows, ditches, streambanks, grasslands, shrublands, disturbed areas and forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; var. arborescens is common in and W of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, var. melanocarpa is common E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains and less frequent to the W of them, var. leucocarpa is infrequent in SC and SE BC; var. arborescens – N to AK and YT and S to CA; var. melanocarpa – E to AB and S to NM, AZ, NV and N CA; var. leucocarpa – E to PQ and NB and S to TN and GA.Status Information
| Scientific Name | Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sambucus racemosa var. arborescens | Native | S5 | Yellow | Not Listed |
| Sambucus racemosa var. leucocarpa | Native | S3S4 | Yellow | Not Listed |
| Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa | Native | S5 | Yellow | Not Listed |
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Sambucus racemosa var. laciniata W. D. J. Koch ex DC.