American Elder 



851 



late, 4 to 12 cm. long and pointed; the base is somewhat wedge-shaped, oblique or 

 slightly rounded, the margins toothed by incurved thick-pointed teeth. The 

 numerous creamy white flowers are borne in flattish pubescent cymes i to 2 dm. 

 across; the corolla is 5 to 8 mm. broad, deeply divided into 5 ovate-oblong lobes. 

 The fruit is about 6 mm. in diameter, rather juicy, almost black and without 

 bloom; the seeds are small and rough. 



The wood is soft, coarse-grained, and brownish, with a specific gravity of 

 about 0.46. The fruit is eaten by Mexicans £ind Indians, and the tree is sometimes 

 planted for ornament and shade. 



4. AMERICAN ELDER — Sambucus canadensis Linnaeus 



Also called Sweet elder and Elderberry, this species occurs from Nova Scotia 

 to Manitoba, south to Florida, and west to Kansas and Texas. The West Indian 

 plant is also referred to this species. Usually a shrub, it attains the dignity of a 

 tree at the South, where it reaches a 

 height of 6 meters, with a trunk di- 

 ameter of 3 dm. 



The dark brown bark is 3 to 5 

 mm. thick, brown and fissured into 

 many elongated scales. The thick 

 soft twigs are hght brown in color, 

 and filled with a white pith. The 

 winter buds, placed above the trian- 

 gular leaf scar, are rather small and 

 covered with many scales. The leaves 

 are bright green above, lighter and 

 smooth underneath or with a few silky 

 hairs on the veins; the short-stalked 

 leaflets, usually 7 in number, are 3 to 

 13 cm. long and about one third as 

 wide, oblong to oval, rounded at the 

 slightly unequal base, taper-pointed 

 and toothed by small, sharp, incurved 

 •teeth; the terminal leaflet is generally 

 somewhat broader than the others; the tree in the South frequently has the lower 

 pair of leaflets pinnately divided. The numerous fragrant flowers are borne in 

 broad nearly flat cymes, sometimes 2.5 dm. across; the white corolla is 3 to 5 mm. 

 broad and deeply divided into 5 broadly oblong or oval lobes. The fruit is dark 

 purple to nearly black, 4 to 6 mm. in diameter, with a sweetish purpUsh pulp 

 enclosing 3 to 5 roughened nutlets. 



The flowers, which open late in June and early in July, are used in several 

 ways; freshly gathered they are mixed with batter and baked into cakes; mixed 



Fig. 774. — American Elder. 



