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Sambucus cerulea
Also called Blue elder, Blueberry Elder, Mexican Elder
Blue elderberry is a large, fast-growing deciduous shrub or small tree from western North America, grown for its blue-black berries and flowers. It tolerates a wide range of conditions and can be cut hard in winter to keep it in shape.
Sambucus cerulea or Sambucus nigra subsp. cerulea, with the common names blue elderberry and blue elder, is a coarse textured shrub species of elder in the family Viburnaceae.
The raw berries contain a toxin which, if eaten raw, may induce nausea in some people.
S. cerulea is native to the Western United States, northwestern Mexico, and British Columbia. It is found from the Pacific coasts, through California and the Great Basin, to Montana, Wyoming, Texas and Oklahoma.
The flower blossoms can be used to make tea. The fruits can be eaten raw (despite containing a toxin), dried, or as jelly.
American Elder · Dwarf Elder · Chinese Elder · Elder · Red-berried Elder · Elder
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sambucus cerulea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
