Alternate name: Common Elderberry, Mexican Elderberry, Black Elder

Family: Caprifoliaceae, Honeysuckle view all from this family

Description Large shrub or small tree with irregular crown of few, stout, spreading branches, clusters of white flowers, and many small black or purple berries.
Height: 16-25' (5-7.6 m).
Diameter: 6" -1" (15-30 cm).
Leaves: opposite; pinnately compound; 5-9" (13-23 cm) long; with yellow-green axis. 3-7 leaflets 1 1/2-4" (4-10 cm) long, 3/4-2" (2-5 cm) wide; paired (except at end); elliptical; sharply saw-toothed; stalkless or nearly so. Shiny green above, dull light green and hairy along midvein beneath. Often evergreen and leathery in South and Southwest. Leaves sometimes partly bipinnate, with up to 13 leaflets.
Bark: light gray or brown with raised dots; smooth or becoming fissured and rough.
Twigs: light green, stout, angled, with ringed nodes and thick white pith.
Flowers: 1/4" (6 mm) wide; with white corolla of 5 or 4 lobes; fragrant; many in upright flat-topped, much-branched clusters, 2-8" (5-20 cm) wide; in late spring and early summer (year-round in South Southwest), shedding early.
Fruit: 1/4" (6 mm) in diameter; black, purplish-black, or dark blue berry; juicy; 3-5 1-seeded nutlets; maturing in late summer and autumn (year-round in South and Southwest).

Warning Plant parts and raw berries are toxic to humans and animals; especially dangerous for children. Whistles made from the stems have been implicated in poisonings. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.

Habitat Wet soils, especially in open areas near water at forest edges; along streams and drainages.

Range SE. Manitoba east to Nova Scotia, south to S. Florida, and westward across Texas and plains states to California and south into Mexico; to 5000' (1524 m).

Discussion This common, widespread shrub sprouts from roots. Elderberries, inedible when fresh and raw, are used for making jelly, preserves, pies, and wine. Birds and mammals of many species also feed on the berries. The bark, leaves, and flowers have served in home remedies but can be toxic. This subspecies incorporates several other forms that used to be considered separate species, including S. mexicana and S. canadensis.