Shrub 1-4 m (3-12 ft) tall. Leaves pinnately compound. Leaflets 5-11, elliptic to lanceolate, sharply serrate, glabrous to hirtellous beneath, 4-13 cm (1.6-5 in) long and 2-6 cm (0.8-2.4 in) wide. Flowers small, white, fragrant, in flat cymes. Ripe fruit usually purple-black, numerous, 4-6 mm (0.15-0.25 in) in diameter.
Distribution: Native to southeastern Canada and most of the United States except for the Great Basin and the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Usually found in floodplains or rich soil.
NWI status: FAC+
Comment: Sambucus is the old Latin name for the European elderberry; nigra (black) may refer to the ripe fruit; canadensis refers to Canada.
Distribution in Oklahoma:
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Last update: 9/20/99
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