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 andTexas. 



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 5-1 1, usually y, ovate 

 or oval, acute to acumi- 

 nate, 1-!:, 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 i-seeded nutlets. 



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