Blue elderberry grows just down the road from Perennial Favorites. If you’re looking for a native fruit tree to add to your garden, look no further!
This picture from William & Wilma Follette @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1992. Western wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. West Region, Sacramento
The flowers are gorgeous in June and July. The berries, a deep blue, are used to make wine, jelly, pancake syrup, and even as a component in herbal cough syrups!
Blue elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea) usually occurs in moist areas within drier, more open habitats. It is frequently associated with quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) communities. The tree that grows near us is in a bit of a grassy swale–most of the plants around it are drylanders, but I think somehow there must have been enough moisture in this low spot for it to germinate and flourish. Once established it can take dry conditions as was evidenced by its ability to bloom profusely this past summer despite the months of extreme drought our region experienced during 2010-2011.
Even though the leaves and twigs (and even the raw berries) are toxic, the cooked berries have been used for centuries as food and medicine. The raw berries are not toxic to birds, however; it is loved by bluebirds, vireo, western tanager, house finch, towhee, magpies, woodpeckers, grosbeaks, Townsend solitaire, quail, pheasant, and hummingbirds who visit flowers for nectar.
