We have had this very large shrub along our driveway…I have always admired the blooms. I finally took the time to look it up.
The blooms are white panicles and face upward.
It is a Red-berried Elder. The berries will be toxic to humans but birds should enjoy them. It’s real name is Sambucus racemosa.
The shrub is quite tall and some of it has died off, it needs a good trim, but I will need to use the chainsaw or a lumbermason who lives next door. I just looked it up, it is typically a Zone 4 shrub and we are Zone 3…so that is why some of the shrub winterkilled. If I were into horticulture and new plants I would collect seed and plant a bunch of the offspring out, or take cuttings from this shrub in the spring and observe them for about ten years and then name the best one after me.
The Red-berried Elder blooms just after the Pin Cherries ( Prunus pensylvanica), and just before the Chokecherries.
Choke Cherries almost in bloom. Her real name is Prunus virginiana.
I love all the native shrubs that produce berries for the birds.
native is best
ReplyDeleteMe, too. Thanks for naming that shrub for me, I have seen it without knowing its name. Nice to say hello properly now. :-)
ReplyDeleteLiving in Arkansas and having a field and wooded area close.
ReplyDeleteI got to see many native plants. Fascinating how looking close
they were very pretty.
We need people to know about native plants and work for their survival. they aren't making any new native habitat these days.
ReplyDeleteodd that birds can thrive on the berries, but it's toxic to humans. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had an elderberry here...one I could make things with. The one which grows around here is poisonous.
ReplyDeleteLinda
They have really pretty white flowers. I love plants that feed the birds, too. When they build cities they destroy most of the natural foliage. :(
ReplyDeleteI did not know the name, but I have seen these before. I love to find wild bush in the woods. I know that most are poisonous to humans.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good lesson. A lovely bush I think!
ReplyDeleteI love the native shrubs too. Does that one smell good? We have a white shrub in bloom now that absolutely feels the air with sweetness. I love it. It's not as pretty as the one you have though.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same Elderberry. Apparently you can make wine or syrup from the berries, it seems that the seeds are the toxic part. I've made jelly from the blue elderberry, but not the red.
ReplyDeleteI hear of people who use to live in the north talk about the elderberry shrub. My choke cherry tree is a not producer of fruit. It has moldy things growing on it which makes me think I am going to have to take the whole thing down.
ReplyDeleteMy sister has a shrub that produces berries - the robins love the berries and appear drunk after feasting on them.
ReplyDeleteI remember, in my starving student days, renting a sweet little home which had what was called an elderberry tree. Although I remember berries on that tree, I'm not sure it would be the same as yours, since you mentioned it being a bush.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing I remember about it, besides the berries, was that it had its very own kind of bug: an elderberry bug. It was not high on my list of favorite plants.
That's a pretty shrub. I hope you can trim away the winter kill and hopefully it will renew itself in time.
ReplyDeleteElderberries can be used for wonderful hings like elderberry wine and medicine. If I recall correctly, the flowers have a sweet, pungent fragrance. It's a win win, because the birds love the berries!
ReplyDeleteWe have that same native elderberry here in the Pacific Northwest, where it grows abundantly. And i do believe the berries are edible. elderberry wine used to be a thing.
ReplyDeleteWe have that same native elderberry here in the Pacific Northwest, where it grows abundantly. And i do believe the berries are edible. elderberry wine used to be a thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of named after you...at least the Elder part! LOL!
ReplyDelete