Sambucus cerulea

Raf.

Blue Elderberry, Blue elder

Adoxaceae Edible: Fruit, Flowers, Flowers - tea Potential hazards — see below 39,185 iNaturalist observations

Has toxic lookalike — see comparison below

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Summary

Sambucus cerulea or Sambucus nigra subsp. cerulea, with the common names blue elderberry and blue elder, is a coarse textured shrub species of elder in the family Adoxaceae.

Description

A tall shrub. It has an irregular shape. It can be a small tree up to 10 m tall. The trunk can be 20 cm across. The bark is thin and light brown. The leaves have 5-9 leaflets on a central stalk which has a groove. The stalk is 6-12 cm long. The leaflets are 5-15 cm long and sword shaped. They are bluish-green above and paler underneath. They do not have hairs. They have an unpleasant smell when crushed. The twigs are stout and the buds are large. The flowers are creamy white in flat topped clusters. These have 5 branches. The clusters are 7-15 cm across. They appear after the leaves have fully grown. The fruit are bluish-black. They are 3-5 mm across. They are juicy and sweet with 3 seeds.

Edible Uses

The flower blossoms can be used to make tea. The fruits can be eaten raw (despite containing a toxin), dried, or as jelly.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw. They are dried before using in jellies, juices, wines, pies, fruit sauces, sherbets, soups, relishes. Flower clusters are made into fritters or pickles. Individual flowers are used in pancakes, muffins, syrups, or vinegars. The dried flowers are brewed for tea.

Known Hazards

The raw berries contain a toxin which, if eaten raw, may induce nausea in some people.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It usually grows on dry open sites with gravelly or stony soils.

Where It Grows

Australia, Canada, Central America, Mexico, North America, USA,

Cultivation

It can be grown from roots.

Notes

There are about 25 Sambucus species. Also put in the family Sambucaceae. The fruit have high antioxidant activity.

Dangerous Lookalikes

This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.

VERY TOXIC

Pokeweed

Phytolacca americana

Jakec

Safe

Blue Elderberry

Sambucus cerulea

Pokeweed: Thick red/purple herbaceous stems (no bark), berries in a line (raceme), simple large leaves, large white taproot.

Blue Elderberry: Woody bark, berries in broad flat clusters (cymes), compound leaves with 5-7 leaflets.

Synonyms

Sambucus cerulea var. neomexicana (Wooton) RehderSambucus glauca Nutt.and others Sambucus mexicana auct.Sambucus neomexicana Wooton

Also Known As

Blue elder, Blue-berry elder, Mexican elder, Sauco, Chicnan

References (24)

Alsogr. amer. 48. 1838
Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994) (As Sambucus caerulea)
Bocek, B. R., 1984, Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington. Economic Botany 38(2): 240-255
Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 905
Elias, T.S. & Dykeman P.A., 1990, Edible Wild Plants. A North American Field guide. Sterling, New York p 190

Show all 24 references

Esperanca, M. J., 1988. Surviving in the wild. A glance at the wild plants and their uses. Vol. 1. p 130
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 222 (As Sambucus glauca)
Farrar, J.L., 1995, Trees of the Northern United States and Canada. Iowa State University press/Ames p 174
Flowerdew, B., 2000, Complete Fruit Book. Kyle Cathie Ltd., London. p 178 (As Sambucus caerulea)
Glowinski, L., 1999, The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia. Lothian. p 176 (As Sambucus caerulea)
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 592 (As Sambucus caerulea)
Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 286 (As Sambucus caerulea)
http://www.stoller-eser.com/Flora/ethnobotany_table.htm
John, L., & Stevenson, V., 1979, The Complete Book of Fruit. Angus & Robertson p 129 (As Sambucus caerulea)
Kiple, K.F. & Ornelas, K.C., (eds), 2000, The Cambridge World History of Food. CUP p 1771 (As Sambucus caerulea)
Mabberley, D. J., 1990, The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the higher plants. Cambridge University Press. NY.
MacKinnon, A., et al, 2009, Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine. p 125
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/ (As Sambucus caerulea)
Segura, S. et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793 (Also as Sambucus velutina)
Turner, N., 1995, Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. Royal BC Museum Handbook p 66
Turner, N., 1997, Food Plants of Interior First Peoples. Royal BC Museum Handbook p 103
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/econ.pl (10 April 2000)
Wiersema, J. H. & Leon, B., 2013, World Economic Plants. A Standard Reference CRC Press. 2nd Ed. p 611
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew