SPECIES DESCRIPTION
SAMBUCAS EBULUS

Family:- CAPRIFOLIACEAE

Common Names:- Dwarf elder, danewort.

Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Sambucus (L) Latin for the elder tree.
                  Ebulus (L) A name in used by the Roman naturalist and natural
philosopher Pliny for danewort.
               
General description:- Perennial herb with a creeping rhizome.

Stems:-
   a) up to 0·6-2 m.
   b) stout, erect, usually simple.

Leaves:-
1) Leaflets:
   a) 5-13, 5-16 x 1-4·5 cm.
   b) oblong to oblong-lanceolate, gradually narrowing to a point, (acuminate).
   c) margins, acute saw-toothed, (acutely serrate).
2) Stipules:
   a) conspicuous, more or less ovate.

Flower:-
1) Inflorescence:
   a) 5-16 cm diam.
   b) corymbose.
   c) with 3(-4) primary rays.
2) Corolla:
   a) white, rarely pink outside.
   b) anthers purple.

Fruit:-
1) Drupe:
   a) with 3-5 compressed, cartilaginous pyrenes.
   b) globose.
   c) black.

Key features:-
1) Stipules conspicuous.

Habitat:- Woodland margins, gorges, streambanks, ruderal habitats, often
gregarious along roads 0-900 m.

Distribution:- Fairly widespread and common throughout the Mediterranean.
Limited distribution on Crete, mainly in the west.

Flowering time:- May-Aug.

Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis