WorldFloraDB - Sambucus ebulus

Characteristics

A shrub. It forms suckers. It grows 1.5-2 m high and spreads 0.9-2 m wide. The leaves are divided and there are up to 9 leaflets 15 cm long. The flowers are small. They are in flat heads 10 cm across. The fruit are black berries. They are 6-7 mm across and shiny when ripe.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

endozoochory

Mature width (meter)

0.95 - 1.5

Mature height (meter)

1.2 - 1.3

Root system

creeping-root rhizome

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

Fruiting months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

It grows in temperate and Mediterranean regions. It suits hardiness zones 5-10.

More

Waste ground, woods, hedgerows and scrub. especially on calcareous soils.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

CAUTION The fruit are poisonous and cause diarrhoea. It is not eaten raw. They are used to make a drink. They are also used for jam. The flowers are used to flavour pancakes and jams.

Uses	dye environmental use essential oil food fuel material medicinal poison
Edible	flowers fruits leaves
Therapeutic use	Cathartics (fruit), Edema (fruit), Cathartics (leaf), Diuretics (leaf), Edema (leaf), Expectorants (leaf), Diaphoretic (leaf), Cathartics (root), Diuretics (root), Edema (root), Expectorants (root), Kidney diseases (root), Ulcer (root), Alterative (unspecified), Aperient (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Dropsy (unspecified), Expectorant (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Tumor(Joint) (unspecified), Tumor(Thigh) (unspecified), Tea (unspecified), Laxative (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), Expectorants (unspecified)
Human toxicity	toxic (whole)
Animal toxicity	toxic (whole)

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.

Mode	cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-29
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-