Sambucus nigra

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant belonging to the Viburnaceae family}}

{{Redirect|Black elderberry|the species native to North America sometimes known by the same name|Sambucus canadensis}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Sambucus nigra 004.jpg

|image_caption = Shrub in flower

|genus = Sambucus

|species = nigra

|authority = L.

| range_map = Sambucus nigra range.svg

| range_map_caption= Distribution in Europe

| range_map2 = Sambucus nigra canadensis & cerulea range map 2.png

| range_map2_caption= Natural range of North American subspecies: S.{{nbsp}}cerulea (dark/light blue) and S.{{nbsp}}canadensis (green/red)

}}

Sambucus nigra is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Viburnaceae native to most of Europe.{{cite web|url=http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Sambucus&SPECIES_XREF=nigra&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK=|title=Flora Europaea Search Results|website=Rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk|access-date=13 October 2017}} Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, and European black elderberry.{{ITIS |id= 35324 |taxon= Sambucus nigra}}{{cite web|url=https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=SANI4|title=Plants profile for Sambucus nigra L. (black elderberry)|publisher=Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture|date=2023|access-date=13 June 2023}} It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations. The plant is widely grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree.

Both the flowers and the berries have a long tradition of culinary use, primarily for cordial and wine. Although the plant is commonly used in dietary supplements and traditional medicine, there is no scientific evidence that it provides any significant health benefit.

Description

Elderberry is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to {{convert|6|m|ft|0}} tall and wide,{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Michael and Vikram |isbn= 978-1405332965}} rarely reaching {{cvt|10|m|ft|0}} tall. The bark, light gray when young, changes to a coarse gray outer bark with lengthwise furrowing, lenticels prominent.Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968 Excursion Flora of the British Isles Second Edition Cambridge.{{ISBN| 0-521-04656-4}} The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, {{Convert|10–30|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} long, pinnate with five to seven (rarely nine) leaflets, the leaflets {{convert|5–12|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and {{Convert|3–5|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} broad, with a serrated margin. The young stems are hollow.Vedel, H. and Lange, J. 1971. Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow. p. 196. Methuen and Co. Ltd. {{ISBN|0416-61780-8}}

The hermaphroditic flowers have five stamens,Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. Webb's An Irish Flora. Cork University Press. {{ISBN|978-185918-4783}} which are borne in large, flat corymbs 10–25 cm in diameter in late spring to mid-summer. The individual flowers are ivory white, {{convert|5–6|mm|frac=32}} in diameter, with five petals, and are pollinated by flies.

The fruit is a glossy, dark purple to black berry 3–5 mm diameter, produced in drooping clusters in late autumn. The dark color of elderberry fruit occurs from its rich phenolic content, particularly from anthocyanins.{{cite web |date=4 August 2021 |title=Elderberry |url=https://www.drugs.com/npp/elderberry.html |access-date=4 September 2021 |publisher=Drugs.com}}

File:Flowers Black Elder.jpg|Flowers

File:Sambucus nigra RF.jpg|Inflorescences and leaves

File:Sambucus nigra2.jpg|Fruit cluster

File:Elder growing on Sycamore, Dalry, Scotland.JPG|Growing as an epiphyte on a sycamore

Taxonomy

=Subspecies=

There are several other closely related species, native to Asia and North America, which are similar, and sometimes treated as subspecies of Sambucus nigra, including S. nigra subsp. canadensis{{cite web|url=http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7320 |title=Sambucus mexicana |publisher=Calflora |access-date=2012-07-16}} and S. nigra subsp. cerulea.{{cite web|url=http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=10348 |title=Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea |publisher=Calflora |access-date=2012-07-16}}

= Etymology =

The Latin specific epithet nigra means "black", and refers to the deeply dark colour of the berries.{{cite book | last=Harrison |first=Lorraine | title=RHS Latin for Gardeners | year=2012 |publisher=Mitchell Beazley | location=United Kingdom | isbn=978-1845337315 }} The English term for the tree is not believed to come from the word "old", but from the Anglo Saxon æld, meaning fire, because the hollow stems of the branches were used as bellows to blow air into a fire.{{cite web |title=Elder (Sambucus nigra) - British trees - |url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/native-trees/elder/ |access-date=3 November 2017 |publisher=Woodland Trust |language=en}}

Distribution and habitat

Sambucus nigra is native to Europe as far east as Turkey.{{cite web |title=Sambucus nigra L. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=10 February 2022 |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30122169-2 }} It is native in, and common throughout, the British Isles.{{cite web |title=Sambucus nigra |work=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora |publisher=Biological Records Centre and Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland |url=https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/sambucus-nigra |access-date=10 February 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211023852/https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/sambucus-nigra |archivedate=2022-02-11}} It has been introduced to parts of most other continents of the world.

Hedges, waste-ground roadsides, and woods are the typical habitats for the species.

S. nigra is recorded as very common in Ireland in hedges as scrub in woods.Hackney, P. 1992. Stewarts and Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland. Institute of Irish Studies The Queen's University of Belfast. {{ISBN|0 85389 446 9}}(HB)Webb, D.A., Parnell, J. and Doogue, D. 1996. An Irish Flora. Dundalgan Press Ltd, Dundalk. {{ISBN|0-85221-131-7}}

Ecology

{{multiple image

|direction=vertical

|perrow=2

|image1=Hyphodontia sambuci Eglinton.JPG

|caption1=Elder whitewash fungus

|image2=Auricularia auricula-judae Eglinton.JPG

|caption2=Jelly ear fungus

}}

Like other elderberries, Sambucus nigra is subject to elder whitewash fungus and jelly ear fungus. Strong-scented flowers in wild populations of S. nigra attract numerous, minute flower thrips which may contribute to the transfer of pollen between inflorescences.{{cite journal |last1=Scott-Brown |first1=A.S. |last2=Arnold |first2=S.E.J. |last3=Kite |first3=G.C. |last4=Farrell |first4=I. |last5=Farman |first5=D.I. |last6=Collins |first6=D.W. |last7=Stevenson |first7=P.C. |title=Mechanisms in mutualisms: A chemically mediated thrips pollination strategy in common elder |journal=Planta |date=2019 |volume=250 |issue=1 |pages=367–379 |doi=10.1007/s00425-019-03176-5|pmid=31069523 |s2cid=253886497 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019Plant.250..367S |url=http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/23721/3/23721%20ARNOLD%20Planta%20Sambucus%20and%20Thrips%20AAM%202019.pdf }}

= Wildlife value =

Elder rates as fair to good forage for animals such as mule deer, elk, sheep, and small birds. The fruit are an important food for many fruit-eating birds, notably blackcaps. Ripe elderberries are a favorite food for migrating band-tailed pigeons in northern California, which may sometimes strip an entire bush in a short time. The species provides good habitat for large and small mammals,{{cite web |title=Sambucus nigra subsp. cerulea |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/samnigc/all.html#MANAGEMENT |access-date=13 October 2017 |website=Fs.fed.us |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528224449/https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/samnigc/all.html |archivedate=2017-05-28}} as well as nesting habitat for many birds, including hummingbirds, warblers, and vireos. It is also a larval host to the spring azure.The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.

Except for the flowers and ripe berries (but including the ripe seeds), all parts of the plant are poisonous to mammals, containing the cyanogenic glycoside sambunigrin (C₁₄H₁₇NO₆, CAS number 99-19-4).{{cite journal |last1=Campa |first1=Cristiana |last2=Schmitt-Kopplin |first2=P |last3=Cataldi |first3=T R |last4=Bufo |first4=S A |last5=Freitag |first5=D |last6=Kettrup |first6=A |name-list-style=vanc |year=2000 |title=Analysis of cyanogenic glycosides by micellar capillary electrophoresis |journal=Journal of Chromatography B |volume=739 |issue=1 |pages=95–100 |doi=10.1016/S0378-4347(99)00375-8 |pmid=10744317}} The bark contains calcium oxalate crystals.{{Cn|date=September 2023}}

Cultivation

It is a very common feature of hedgerows and scrubland in Britain and northern Europe.

Some selections and cultivars have variegated or coloured leaves and other distinctive qualities, and are grown as ornamental plants. S. nigra f. porphyrophylla has dark maroon or black leaves, and pale pink flowers.

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 95 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 21 October 2018}}

S. nigra f. laciniata (cut-leaved elder){{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/50846/Sambucus-nigra-f-laciniata/Details |title=Sambucus nigra f. laciniata / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2021-03-06}}
S. nigra f. porphyrophylla 'Eva'{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/197771/i-Sambucus-nigra-i-f-i-porphyrophylla-i-Eva-sup-(PBR)-sup/Details | title = RHS Plantfinder - Sambucus nigra 'Eva' | access-date = 21 October 2018}} ('Black Lace'){{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/194381/sambucus-black-lace/details | title = "Sambucus" 'Black Lace' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 2 June 2024}}
S. nigra f. porphyrophylla 'Gerda'{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/139890/Sambucus-nigra-f-porphyrophylla-Gerda-(PBR)/Details |title=Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla 'Gerda'|publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2021-03-06}}

File:PurpleLacyElderberryflowers.jpg

Toxicity

Components of the elderberry plant, including its fruit, contain diverse phytochemicals, such as alkaloids, lectins, and cyanogenic glycosides, which may be toxic if consumed raw. The seeds and all green parts of the plant contain cyanogenic glycosides.{{cite web |date=1 August 2020 |title=European elder |url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/european-elder |access-date=4 September 2021 |publisher=National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, US National Library of Medicine}} Consumption of berries, leaves, bark or stems, if not properly prepared, may cause nausea, vomiting, and severe diarrhea.{{cite web |date=2020 |title=Elderberry |url=https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/elderberry-01 |access-date=11 July 2020 |publisher=Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center}} Elderberry plant constituents or products should not be consumed during pregnancy or by people with allergies or gastrointestinal diseases. Elderberry products may cause adverse effects when used with prescription drugs.

Uses

The dark blue or purple berries are mildly poisonous in their raw state, but are edible after cooking. They can be used to make jam, jelly,{{Cite book|last=Fagan|first=Damian|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1073035766|title=Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert|publisher=FalconGuides|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4930-3633-2|location=Guilford, CT|pages=16|oclc=1073035766}} chutney, and Pontack sauce. In Scandinavia and Germany, soup made from the elderberry (e.g. the German Fliederbeersuppe) is a traditional meal.{{cite journal | last1=Jørgensen | first1=Ulla | last2=Hansen | first2=Merete | last3=Christensen | first3=Lars P. | last4=Jensen | first4=Karina | last5=Kaack | first5=Karl | title=Olfactory and Quantitative Analysis of Aroma Compounds in Elder Flower (Sambucus nigra L.) Drink Processed from Five Cultivars | journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | volume=48 | issue=6 | date=2000-05-12 | issn=0021-8561 | doi=10.1021/jf000005f | pages=2376–2383| pmid=10888553 }}

Commonly, the flowerheads are used in infusions, giving a drink in Northern Europe and the Balkans. These drinks are sold commercially as elderflower cordial or elderflower pressé.Kikbracken, J. 1995. Easy way guide Trees. Larousse. In Europe, the flowers are made into a syrup or cordial (in Romanian: socată, in Swedish: fläder(blom)saft, in Danish: hyldeblomstsaft / hyldedrik), which is diluted with water before drinking. The popularity of this traditional drink recently has encouraged some commercial soft drink producers to introduce elderflower-flavoured drinks (Fanta Shokata, Freaky Fläder). The flowers also may be dipped into a light batter and then fried to make elderflower fritters.{{Cite book |last=Mabey |first=Richard |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/761378530 |title=Food for free |date=2012 |publisher=Collins |isbn=978-0-00-743847-1 |edition= |location=London |pages=83 |oclc=761378530}}

The berries may be made into elderberry wine. In Hungary, an elderberry brandy is made that requires 50 kilograms of fruit to produce 1 litre of brandy. In south-western Sweden, it is traditional to make a snaps liqueur flavoured with elderflower. Elderflowers are used in liqueurs such as St-Germain, and in a mildly alcoholic sparkling elderflower 'champagne', although a more alcoholic home-made version can be made. In Beerse, Belgium, a variety of jenever called beers vlierke is made from the berries.{{Cn|date=September 2023}}

File:Elderberry-jam.JPG|Elderberry jam

File:Sambuci flos dried.jpg|Sambuci flos: dried sambucus nigra flowers as used in herbal tea

File:"Godfrey's Extract of Elder-Flowers" ad - Woman's Exhibition, 1900, Earl's Court, London, S.W. - official fine art, historical and general catalogue (IA gri 33125013839424) (page 7 crop).jpg|"Godfrey's Extract of Elder-Flowers" ad in 1900

= Traditional medicine =

This plant is used in traditional medicine by native peoples and herbalists.{{cite web|url=http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sambucus+nigra|title=Sambucus nigra: Elderberry - European Elder, Black elderberry, American black elderberry, Blue elderberry|publisher=Plants for a Future|access-date=13 October 2017}} Extracts of the flowers and fruits are used for cold and flu symptoms, although there is no high-quality clinical evidence that it is effective for treating any disease.