SAMBUCUS NIGRA

Family:- CAPRIFOLIACEAE

Common Names:- Elder

Synonyms:- Sambucus florida.

Meaning:- Sambucus (L) Latin for the elder tree.

Nigra (L) Black.

General description:- Shrub or small tree , with brownish-grey, grooved or

furrowed (sulcate), corky bark and whitish pith.

Stems:-

a) up to 10 m.

b) often with vigorous, erect shoots from the base.

c) branches often arching.

Leaves:-

1) Leaflets:

a) 5-7(-9), 4·5-12(-18) x 2-6(-10) cm.

b) ovate, ovate-lanceolate or ovate-elliptical, narrowing gradually to a point.

c) margins saw-toothed (serrate).

d) sparsely pubescent beneath.

2) Stipules absent or very small, awl-shaped (subulate).

Flower:-

1) Inflorescence 10-24 cm diam.

a) corymbose, with (4-)5 primary rays.

2) Corolla:

a) white.

b) anthers, yellowish-white.

Fruit:-

1) A drupe:

a) with 3-5 compressed, cartilaginous pyrenes.

b) globose.

c) black (very rarely red).

key features:-

1) Shrub or small tree.

2) Stipules absent or very small.

3) Inflorescence corymbose.

4) Fruit usually black.

5) Pith whitish.

Habitat:- Damp woodland, gorges, scrub along streams, ruderal habitats by

villages. 0-1200 m.

Distribution:- Fairly widespread and common throughout the Mediterranean.

Widespread in Europe, also cultivated. Rare on Crete, mainly in the east. Most

probably seriously under recorded.

Flowering time:- Late Apr to July.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton