Blueberry elder, ordinarily a many-stemmed bush from 6 to 12 feet high, 

 sometimes attains treelike proportions, particularly in the southern part of its 

 range, growing to a height of 20 to 25 feet, with a main stem 1 foot in diameter. 

 It ranges from southern British Columbia to California, Arizona, and Alberta 

 in the foothills and pinon-juniper, ponderosa pine, and aspen belts. In Cali- 

 fornia, where it is the common foothill elder, it occurs from sea level up to an 

 elevation of about 5,500 feet; in the Northwest and Idaho, from sea level to 

 about 4,000 feet; and in Utah and Nevada, it appears principally between alti- 

 tudes of 5,500 and 9,000 feet. 1 In general, this elder occurs scatteringly, al- 

 though common along streams, in canyons, and on moist flats and slopes in 

 sandy or clayey loam soils. It is frequently associated with bromes (Bromus 

 spp. ), chokecherries (Prunus spp.), serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.), and 

 wheatgrasses (Agropyrcm spp.). 



The browse value of blueberry elder varies with the season. In the spring it 

 is almost worthless for cattle and practically worthless to poor for sheep; in 

 the summer, sometimes fair to fairly good for both sheep and cattle. In the 

 fall, from the time the fruit ripens until after the first frost, its palatability 

 rises rapidly, the fruit, leaves, and twigs being consumed. The palatability of 

 the frosted herbage is, at least, fairly good for cattle, and good to very good for 

 sheep. However, despite its high fall palatability, this species, because of its 

 usual lack of abundance and the fact that the foliage is frequently beyond the 

 reach of grazing animals, especially sheep, is not a very important browse plant, 

 except possibly in California. Its palatability for goats is probably as good as 

 for sheep ; it is good browse for deer and, possibly, also for elk. 



The Indians have always made considerable use of blueberry elder, fresh and 

 dried. Decoctions of the dried blossoms are used externally as a lotion and 

 antiseptic wash. This plant is also used internally to check bleeding of the 

 lungs in consumption and is especially valued as an alleviant of stomach troubles. 

 The inner bark yields a strong emetic. 



Although the fruits of this species are black, they are covered with a bluish 

 white, waxy bloom, which gives them a cerulean-blue color; whence the com- 

 mon name blueberry elder and the specific name cacrulea; the latter is a Latin 

 adjective meaning sky blue. 



The origin of the name Sambucus for the elders, or elderberries, is controver- 

 sial. The usual explanation is that it is probably derived from the Greek 

 sambuke, a musical instrument perhaps because the pithy stems were used 

 by shepherds and others to fashion rustic pipes, or flutes. Gerard 2 regards 

 this etymology as erroneous. The genus, which embraces about 42 species of 

 shrubs, small trees, or rarely herbs, belongs to the honeysuckle family (Cajjri- 

 foliaceae). It is widely distributed in temperate and subtropical regions. Of 

 about 14 species native to the United States, all but S species occur in the West. 

 The characters of elders which permit of easy recognition are: Opposite 

 branches ; distinctively pithy young stems ; opposite, odd-pinnately divided leaves 

 with toothed leaflets ; numerous small, whitish flowers in flat-topped or pyram- 

 idal clusters, and small, red, bluish, or black berrylike fruits. Some of the 

 red-fruited species are reputed to have slightly poisonous berries so far as 

 human beings are concerned, but the fruit of the black- or blue-fruited species 

 is edible, at least when cooked. Birds and other wildlife and even domestic 

 livestock relish the berries. 



Some authors list Arizona elder (8. caeru'lea arizo'nica, syn. 8. glau'ca 

 arizo'nica), New Mexico elder (8. neomexica'na, syns. 8. caeru'lea neomex- 

 ica'na, 8. fflau'ca neomexica'na), and velvet elder (S 1 . vclu'tina, syn. 8. 

 caeru'lea velu'tina) as varieties of blueberry elder, but majority botanical sen- 

 timent seems to be that probably only the first-named should be regarded as a 

 variety, the other two being worthy of specific rank. Arizona elder differs 

 from blueberry elder chiefly in having three to five (mostly three), rather than 

 five to nine leaflets ; smaller flower clusters, and smaller fruits. Arizona 

 elder, often occurring as a small tree 30 feet in height with stout spreading 

 branches which form a compact round-topped crown, grows along streams from 

 New Mexico to southern California. 



1 Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 

 101, 214 pp., illus. 1931. 



2 Gerard, W. R. ORIGIN OF THE NAME SAMBDCUS. Garden and Forest 8 : 368. 1895. 



