Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Dipsacales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sambucus canadensis
FAMILY
Viburnaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Common Elderberry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
This is one of the first woody plants to leaf out in the spring, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis
FAMILY
Caprifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 174-06-001:
Sambucus canadensis FAMILY Caprifoliaceae
INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Sambucus canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sambucus canadensis
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sambucus simpsonii
COMMON NAME:
Common Elderberry, American Elder
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2372_s_canadens
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_915
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_saca12_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm240213_7378
February Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0005e_31
May Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0206b_09a
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0306f_17
June Greenville County SC
Many small, white, fragrant flowers gathered in large flat-topped clusters, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).
)
JK Marlow jkm0406f_28
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm070601_003
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm070601_012
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm070601_019
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0407k_26
July Jackson County NC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow s040713_d
July Jackson County NC
Roadside
Leaves with 5-11 coarsely toothed leaflets, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow s040713_e
July Jackson County NC
Roadside
Leaflets occasionally subdivided or lobed, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Gill Newberry gn08_s_canadensis_berries
August
)
Gill Newberry gn08_s_canadensis_habitat
August
)
Gill Newberry gn08_s_lvs_and_fr
August
)
JK Marlow jkm0308r_19
August Jackson County NC
Roadside
Fruits dark purplish-black or black, borne in flat-topped clusters, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
COMPARE
fruit of Elderberry species
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_110
August Haywood County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_117
August Haywood County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sambucus canadensis
FAMILY
Viburnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis
FAMILY
Caprifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 174-06-001:
Sambucus canadensis
FAMILY
Caprifoliaceae
INCLUDING
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Sambucus canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sambucus canadensis
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sambucus simpsonii
1310
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Bottomland and riparian forests, streambanks, thickets, marshes, swamps, seeps, spring runs, mesic upland forests, pond margins, pastures, fencerows, other disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 5-11 leaflets
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
5 sepals, very small
5-lobed rotate corolla
5 stamens
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer
Purplish/Blackish
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p382
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p260
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p082
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p275
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p125
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p100
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p320
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p375
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p060
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p125
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p241
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p022
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p268
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p310
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p05
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p312
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p318
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p243
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