Sambucus racemosa
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Sambucus racemosa is a species of elder known by the common names red-berried elder[1][2] and red elderberry.[3] It is native across much of the Northern Hemisphere.[4]
Description
Sambucus racemosa is medium-sized shrub growing Template:Cvt (rarely Template:Cvt) 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 Template:Cvt (rarely to Template:Cvt) 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 Template:Cvt 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.Template:Sfn
Varieties and subspecies
- Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa — Rocky Mountain elder, native to the Western United States and Western Canada, including the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada.[9][10][11]
- Sambucus racemosa var. microbotrys (Rydb.) Kearney & Peebles – Southwestern United States[12]
- Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens — American red elder, native to North America
- Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa — European red-berried elder.[13]
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).[4]
Distribution and habitat
It is native to Europe, northern temperate Asia, and North America across Canada and the United States.[14] It grows in riparian environments, woodlands, and other habitats, generally in moist areas.[7]
Toxicity
The stems, roots and foliage are poisonous, and the berries can be toxic or cause nausea if eaten raw.[7]
Uses
It 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][15] The uses included as an emetic, antidiarrheal, cold and cough remedy, dermatological and gynecological aid.[15]
Food
The fruit is reportedly safe to eat[16] when cooked, but are potentially poisonous when raw. 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]
Cultivation
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.[2]
Cultivars
Cultivars in the nursery trade include:
- Sambucus racemosa 'SMNSRD4' Lemony Lace® — golden green foliage, with red new growth[17]
- Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold' — green foliage, with bronze new growth:[18] it has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[19][20]
Images
-
Fruit of subsp. pubens, (Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest)
-
Inflorescence and foliage of subsp. pubens
-
Young leaves and flowerbuds of subsp. racemosa
-
Clusters of berries of subsp. racemosa
-
Fruit of var. melanocarpa
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina: Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. pubens)
- ↑ a b c d e f Template:NPIN
- ↑ Pojar, J. & A. MacKinnon. (1994). Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Lone Pine Publishing. Template:ISBN
- ↑ Template:Calflora
- ↑ Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
- ↑ Template:Jepson eFlora
- ↑ Sambucus racemosa var. microbotrys (Rydb.) Kearney & Peebles. Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 2 February 2023.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ a b University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany for Sambucus racemosa
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Proven Winners.com: Sambucus racemosa Lemony Lace
- ↑ Fine Gardening Magazine: Sambucus racemosa Sutherland Gold
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Bibliography
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
External links
- Template:Calflora
- Template:Jepson eFlora
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Template:CalPhotos
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with script errors
- Sambucus
- Flora of Europe
- Flora of temperate Asia
- Flora of Canada
- Flora of the Eastern United States
- Flora of the Western United States
- Flora of California
- Plants described in 1753
- Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
- Berries
- Bird food plants
- Butterfly food plants
- Edible plants
- Garden plants
- Flora without expected TNC conservation status