HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY CAPRIFOLIACEAE 
COMMON ELDER 
Sambucus canadensis L. 
Horticultural varieties of Elder which may be purchased 
are no more desirable for ornamental planting than this com- 
mon form. The berries are excellent for jellies and pies; mixed 
with apples and stewed 
they make an excellent 
sauce which is some- 
times used on shortcake 
in place of strawberries. 
Leaves, bark and flow- 
ers have been used in 
medicine for a number of 
ailments. 
The Common Elder is 
a handsome shrub growing 
4-10 feet high. It prefers 
moist soil and full sun- 
light, and is found from 
Nova Scotia to Manitoba, 
south to Florida and Texas. 
The stems are smooth, 
soft and woody, and con- 
tain a large white pith. 
Individually they live us- 
ually 3-5 years but new 
shoots sprout from the 
from dying out. Leaflets 
are 5-11, usually 7, ovate 
or oval, acute to acumi- 
nate, 2-5 inches long, 
sharply serrate and smooth above but sometimes slightly hairy 
on the veins beneath. 
Numerous large flat clusters of white flowers appear in June 
and July, and the dark purple berries ripen in September. The 
flowers are very fragrant and so visited by many pollinating 
insects, and the fruits are greedily eaten by birds. There are 
usually 5 lobes to the corolla, 5 stamens and 3 stigmas. The deep 
purple or black drupes are one-quarter inch in diameter and 
contain 3-5 roughened 1-seeded nutlets. 
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