Sambucus racemosa var. leucocarpa L. (Torr. & A. Gray) Cronquist
eastern red elderberry
Adoxaceae (Honeysuckle family)
(Previously in Caprifoliaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
eastern red elderberry
Adoxaceae (Honeysuckle family)
(Previously in Caprifoliaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Map
Distribution of Sambucus racemosa var. leucocarpa
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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
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. leucocarpa subsp. pubens (T. & G.) Cronq.