436 FOREST TREES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 



usually 5 thickish leaflets which are smooth above and lighter green and hairy, 

 or at least somewhat hairy on the veins, beneath (sometimes almost or quite 

 smooth). Mature " berries," of similar form and size to those of the blue elder, 

 are smooth and almost black a never with pale bloom of the latter species. The 

 edible fruit is highly prized locally. Wood, pale yellowish brown, and other- 

 wise similar to that of blue elder. Not used commercially. 



Longevity. — Not fully determined. Appears to grow much more slowly than 

 the preceding tree. Record of one tree 1\ inches in diameter shows an age of 

 32 years. Record of a planted tree in Sonora, Mexico,*" 20 inches in diameter 

 (2G feet high) shows an age of 34 years. This indicates, as for the blue elder, 

 that Mexican elder grows rapidly under cultivation. 



RANGE. 



From western Texas (Nueces River) through southern New Mexico and Arizona to 

 southern California; also in northern California (Plumas County); southward through 

 Mexico to Central America. 



OCCURRENCE. 



Borders and bottoms of mountain streams and springs, in wet or moist gravelly soil. 

 Climatic Conditions. — Similar to those of yellow pine and tolerance and repro- 

 duction as in blue elder. 



Red-berried Elder. 



Sanibiicus caHicarini Greene. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS. 



Red-berried elder is said to attain tree size occasionally, but in the main it is 

 a shrub, bordering streams and ravines in the coast mountain region of Cali- 

 fornia. Distinguished by its bright red (sometimes yellow) berries. The leaf- 

 lets are smooth above and hairy beneath. Excepting the occasional tree form 

 of this plant, its characters, as found in California, are perplexingly close to 

 those of the northern red-berried elder. Sambucus pvbetis Mehx., which is 

 probably best considered the same as 8. raeemosa L., a tree form of which (var. 

 arborescens) was described by Torrey and Gray (Fl. N. A. II. 13, 1840). Much 

 further ~ f udy of this California elder is required before its true status can be 

 determined. Nothing can now be said of its tree size, the character of its wood, 

 or its growth and silvical requirements. 



Berries of the common and mainly eastern bush elder, Sambucus catiadensis L., are 

 black-purple and in this respect aie closely similar to those of this southwestern species, 

 the range of which it enters in the southern Rocky Mountain region. The shrubby 

 form is distinguished, however, by its smooth twigs and leaves, and particularly in its 

 non-arborescent habits. 



6 E. A. Mearns. 



