WorldFloraDB - Sambucus racemosa

Characteristics

A shrub. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows 2.5-3 m high and spreads 2.5-3 m wide. The stem is erect and branching. The bark is dark brown. The leaves are compound divided into leaflets along the stalk. There are 5-7 leaflets. The leaves are yellowish-green. There are teeth along the edge. The flowers are cream. They occur in dense flat topped clusters at the ends of the branches. The fruit are scarlet berries. They hang in clusters.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

shrub

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

endozoochory

Mature width (meter)

2.75 - 3.0

Mature height (meter)

3.0 - 4.0

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

0.6

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 is a temperate plant. It does best in moist, well-drained soils. It needs a protected shady position. It is frost hardy. It is sensitive to drought. It suits hardiness zones 4-9. Arboretum Tasmania.

More

Open woods, edges of beech forests, mainly in mountainous areas. Moist rocky terrain of the lower to middle mountain slopes.

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

Usage

The ripe fruit are eaten after cooking. They are cooked with sugar. They are used for juice, jellies and jams. The fruit are cooked and dried and stored. The flowers are used for flavouring. Caution: Immature fruit can contain cyanide so should be ripe and cooked.

Uses	beverage food material medicinal oil ornamental poison spice timber wood
Edible	flowers fruits roots seeds
Therapeutic use	Cathartic (bark), Emetic (bark), Witchcraft Medicine (bark), Gynecological Aid (bark), Herbal Steam (bark), Orthopedic Aid (bark), Antidote (bark), Laxative (bark), Strengthener (bark), Toothache (bark), Liver Aid (bark), Unspecified (bark), Cold Remedy (bark), Cough Medicine (bark), Psychological Aid (bark), Poison (fruit), Gastrointestinal Aid (fruit), Orthopedic Aid (leaf), Abortifacient (leaf), Reproductive Aid (leaf), Dermatological Aid (leaf), Blood Medicine (leaf), Disinfectant (leaf), Analgesic (root), Cathartic (root), Emetic (root), Gastrointestinal Aid (root), Witchcraft Medicine (root), Antirheumatic (External) (root), Laxative (root), Unspecified (root), Dermatological Aid (root), Liver Aid (root), Cold Remedy (root), Cough Medicine (root), Gynecological Aid (root), Analgesic (shoot), Antirheumatic (External) (shoot), Emetic (unspecified), Cathartic (unspecified), Antirheumatic (Internal) (unspecified), Dermatological Aid (unspecified), Misc. Disease Remedy (unspecified), Ague (unspecified), Caries (unspecified), Circulation (unspecified), Cold (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Fracture (unspecified), Gas (unspecified), Lochia (unspecified), Nephritis (unspecified), Parturition (unspecified), Purgative(Veterinary) (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Sprain (unspecified), Trauma (unspecified), Bones (unspecified), Dropsy (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Anodyne (unspecified), Carminative (unspecified), Feet (unspecified), Leg (unspecified), Placenta (unspecified), Wound (unspecified), Arthralgia (unspecified)
Human toxicity	weak toxic (whole)
Animal toxicity	toxic (whole)

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed or by hardwood cuttings.

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