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Red Elderberry
Sambucus racemosa
  
26 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) 26 Nurseries Carry This Plant Sambucus racemosa is a species of elderberry known by the common names red elderberry and Red-berried Elder. It is native to Europe, northern temperate Asia, and North America across Canada and the United States. It grows in riparian environments, woodlands, and other habitats, generally in moist areas. Sambucus racemosa is often a treelike shrub growing 2-6 metres (6. 6-19. 7 ft) tall. The stems are soft with a pithy center. Each individual leaf is composed of 5 to 7 leaflike leaflets, each of which is up to 16 centimeters long, lance-shaped to narrowly oval, and irregularly serrated along the edges. The leaflets have a strong disagreeable odor when crushed. The inflorescence is a vaguely cone-shaped panicle of several cymes of flowers blooming from the ends of stem branches. The flower buds are pink when closed, and the open flowers are white, cream, or yellowish. Each flower has small, recurved petals and a star-shaped axis of five white stamens tipped in yellow anthers. The flowers are fragrant and visited by hummingbirds and butterflies. The fruit is a bright red or sometimes purple drupe containing 3 to 5 seeds. Varieties and subspecies are: Sambucus racemosa subsp. kamtschatica - red elder, native to Northeastern Asia. Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa - Rocky Mountain elder, native to the Western United States and Western Canada, including the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens - American red elder, native to Eastern North America
Sambucus racemosa subsp. racemosa - European red elder. Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa - Pacific red elderberry. Sambucus racemosa subsp. sibirica - red elder, native to Siberia. Sambucus racemosa subsp. sieboldiana - Japanese red elder

Sambucus racemosa is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a shrub or small tree in traditional and wildlife gardens, and natural landscape design projects. Cultivars in the nursery trade include: Sambucus racemosa 'Black Lace' - burgundy foliage, Sambucus racemosa 'Lemon Lace' - golden yellow and green foliage, Sambucus racemosa 'Lemony Lace' - golden green foliage, with red new growth, Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold' - green foliage, with bronze new growth. It received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Tree

Size
Size
6.6 - 20 ft tall

Flower Color
Flower Color
White, Yellow, Cream

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 23 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata
*
Antheraea polyphemus Image
Polyphemus moth Antheraea polyphemusAntheraea polyphemus
*
Autographa californica Image
Alfalfa Looper Moth Autographa californicaAutographa californica
*
Estigmene acrea Image
Salt Marsh Moth or Acrea Moth Estigmene acreaEstigmene acrea
*
Spilosoma virginica Image
Virginian Tiger Moth Spilosoma virginicaSpilosoma virginica
*
Ectropis crepuscularia Image
The Small Engrailed Ectropis crepusculariaEctropis crepuscularia
*
Anavitrinella pampinaria Image
Common Gray Anavitrinella pampinariaAnavitrinella pampinaria

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Moderate - High

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 26

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Favors deeper, loamy sands and silts and nutrient rich sites with good drainage

Common uses
Common uses
Hedges, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Moist places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.8" - 131.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.26" - 4.41", Coldest Month: 19.9" - 56.8", Hottest Month: 40.8" - 83.1", Humidity: 0.01" - 35.70", Elevation: 3" - 12391"

Alternative Names
Common Names: European Red Elder, Red-berried Elder, Scarlet Elderberry


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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