Sambucus nigra subsp. cerulea
Common name: 
Blue Elderberry
Blueberry Elder
Pronunciation: 
sam-BEW-kus ni-GRA ser-U-lee-ah
Family: 
Adoxaceae, Caprifoliaceae
Genus: 
Sambucus
Synonyms: 
Sambucus caerulea
Sambucus mexicana
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
Yes
  • Broadleaf deciduous (nearly evergreen mild climates) tree or large shrub,15-30 ft (9-15 m) high, may form a thicket, has pithy stems.  Leaves opposite, pinnately compound, 15-25 cm long, 5-7(9) leaflets, each 5-15 cm long and 1-5 cm wide, narrowly ovate or lanceolate, unequal at base, coarsely serrate, bright green (a variable species).  Flowers yellowish-white, 5-lobed, 6 mm wide, in many branched, flat clusters.  Fruit 6 mm, dark blue with whitish bloom, edible, but not very palatable fresh. When cooked makes a good jam, pie, and wine.
  • Sun, prefers forest-edge location and moist soils.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 4       Native from British Columbia east to Montana and Utah, south to California and New Mexico.  Shrubs in the genus Sambucus are the only ones found in the Pacific Northwest forests that have both opposite and pinnately compound leaves.
  • Richard Bolli published a monograph in 1994 titled, "Revision of the Genus Sambucus", in it he proposed the placement of 6 species of elderberry as subspecies of Sambucus nigra, including S. caerulea, Blue Elderberry, to S. nigra ssp. cerulea (note spelling) and S. canadensis, American Elderberry, to S. nigra ssp. canadensis.  This change has been accepted by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), but certainly not all taxonomists, see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4859216/ .
  • caerulea (cerulea): dark blue
  • Oregon State Univ. campus: in open area behind Dixon Lodge.
  • Corvallis: River Front Park, along walkway south of VanBuren Ave.
Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • flowering, McKenzie Pass lava beds

    flowering, McKenzie Pass lava beds

  • flower cluster

    flower cluster

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaf attachment

    leaf attachment

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaflets

    leaflets

  • leaflet comparison

    leaflet comparison

  • plant habit, fruiting

    plant habit, fruiting

  • ripening fruit

    ripening fruit

  • plant habit, ripe fruit

    plant habit, ripe fruit

  • leaves and fruit clusters

    leaves and fruit clusters

  • fruit cluster, ripe

    fruit cluster, ripe

  • fruit, comparison

    fruit, comparison

  • stems

    stems

  • bark

    bark

  • winter twigs, buds

    winter twigs, buds