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Sambucus racemosa
Also called Red elderberry, European Red Elder, Scarlet Elderberry, European Red Elderberry, Pacific Coast Red Elder, Coastal Red Elderberry, Red Berry Elder
Red-berried elder is a medium-sized shrub, 2 to 4 m tall, that bears clusters of bright red berries and fragrant white flowers. It grows best in moist soil and is often planted in wildlife and woodland gardens.
Sambucus racemosa, also known as red-berried elder or red elderberry, is a species of shrub in the moschatel family Viburnaceae. It is native across much of the Northern Hemisphere. It produces distinctive red fruits. The plant is largely poisonous if eaten raw but the fruit can be cooked for consumption.
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. The yellow-foliaged cultivars 'Plumosa Aurea' and 'Sutherland Gold' are widely grown in Britain.
The stems, roots and foliage are poisonous, and the fruit can be toxic or cause nausea if eaten raw.
Sambucus racemosa is native to Europe, northern temperate Asia, and North America across Canada and the United States. It grows in riparian environments, woodlands, and other habitats, generally in moist areas.
Although potentially poisonous when raw, the berries are reportedly safe to eat when cooked. They were cooked in a variety of recipes by indigenous peoples. The plant has been used as a traditional medicine by North American aboriginal people. The Ahousaht use the timing of red elderberry bloom as an indicator to begin halibut fishing and hunting of gray whales and harbor seals.
American Elder · Blue elderberry · Dwarf Elder · Chinese Elder · Elder · Elder
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sambucus racemosa 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.
