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Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens
Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens, commonly known as red elderberry or American red elderberry, is a subspecies of Sambucus racemosa, the latter being a species of shrub in the moschatel family Viburnaceae. The subspecies is native to North America. It typically produces small white flowers and bright red fruits. In western North America, a variety of the subspecies with purple-black fruits is called the Rocky Mountain elder. Some authors consider the subspecies to be a distinct species while others consider it to be indistinct from the Eurasian taxon Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa.
Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens is native to the temperate regions of North America. Its range extends northward to the subarctic regions of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Yukon, but it is absent from the Arctic, the Great Plains, and most of the Southeastern United States except the Appalachian Mountains. It was introduced into Bolivia, Great Britain, and southern New Zealand.
The red berries are an important food source for many birds. They have a bitter taste and can cause digestive problems if eaten in large quantities by humans.
Australian Native Elder · Southern Elder · American Elder · Blue elderberry · Dwarf Elder · White Elderberry · Chinese Elder · Sambucus lanceolata · Elder · Sauco · Peruvian Elder · European Red Elder
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
