SAMBUCAS EBULUS

Family and Genus:- See- CAPRIFOLIACEAE

Common Names:- Dwarf elder, danewort.

Homotypic 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:-

1) Up to 0·6-2 m, stout, erect, usually simple.

Leaves:-

1) Leaflets, 5-13, 5-16 x 1-4·5 cm, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate,

margins, acutely serrate.

2) Stipules, conspicuous, more or less ovate.

Flower:-

1) Inflorescence, 5-16 cm diam, corymbose, with 3(-4) primary rays.

2) Corolla, white, rarely pink outside.

a) anthers, purple.

Fruit:-

1) Drupe, with 3-5 compressed, cartilaginous pyrenes, globose, black.

Key features:-

1) Stipules, conspicuous.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

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