+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ## american elder {#american-elder .Title-Header}                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Sambucus nigra* L. ssp. *canadensis* (L.) R. Boli                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Plant Symbol = SANIC4                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program

![Color image of American Elder (Sambucus nigra
canadensis)](media/image2.png){width="3.0in" height="2.0in"}

**Warning: New growth of American elder contains a glucoside than can be
fatal to livestock.**

##### 

##### Alternate Names {#alternate-names .Header-3}

*Sambucus canadensis* L., common elderberry

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

At least 50 species of songbirds, upland game birds, and small mammals
relish the fruit of American elder during summer and early fall.
White-tailed deer browse the twigs, foliage and fruit during the summer.
American elder is outstanding as nesting cover for small birds. During
summer, the partial shade under American elder promotes a dense ground
cover of grasses and forbs that offers good loafing or feeding areas for
broods of young pheasants and quail.

American elder can be used for erosion control on moist sites. It
pioneers on some strip-mine spoils and may occasionally be useful for
reclamation planting. It is very decorative when in bloom; elder flowers
later than most shrubs. Elderberries are also attractive to makers of
pies, jellies and wine.

##### Status {#status .Header-3}

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

The American elder is an erect, thicket-forming, somewhat woody shrub,
4-12 feet tall, with smooth yellowish-gray branchlets and white pith.
Compound leaves are set oppositely in pairs in a feather-like
arrangement. The leaf surface is bright green. The oval to lance-shaped
leaflets are up to 6\" long and 2 1/2\" wide, with finely serrated
margins. They are abruptly narrowed at the tip and lopsidedly narrowed
or rounded at the base. Leaflets are usually held on short stalks; the
terminal leaflet is on a longer stalk.

Numerous 1/4\" fragrant white flowers, emerge from late June into
August. The terminal clusters of flowers, measuring 4\"-10\" across, are
broad, flat or slightly rounded and long-stalked. Flowers usually
develop in the second-year on older canes, and are arranged in branched
clusters of 5.

Fruits ripen from late July into September. They are round, slightly
bitter, edible purple-black berries with crimson juice. Each is less
than 1/4\" across, borne in large clusters. Each berry contains 3-5
small seeds. Seed dispersal occurs from July to October, usually through
vigorous ingestion by birds and mammals. There are about 230,000 seeds
per pound.

##### Adaptation and Distribution {#adaptation-and-distribution .Header-3}

American elder occupies well-drained, slightly acid soil bordering
streams, and in the adjacent bottomlands, but also grows on gray forest
soils and muck. This shrub is widespread and abundant. American elder
grows best in full sunlight. Once established, elders soon outdistance
herbaceous competition. Thickets of elder are replaced by more
shade-tolerant species during the later stages of forest succession, but
individual plants and small runners will persist under a forest canopy.

American elder is distributed primarily throughout the eastern and
midwestern United States. For a current distribution map, please consult
the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Website.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

American elder naturally reproduces from seeds, sprouts, layers, and
root suckers. Variable degrees of hard-seededness and embryo dormancy
are exhibited. Prior to spring or fall planting, the seed should be
scarified with sulfuric acid, also stratification at 36-40 degrees F for
two months is required for spring planting. Seedling growth is rather
slow during the first year.

Elders can also be propagated from 10" to 18" hardwood cuttings taken
from vigorous one-year-old canes, each must include three sets of buds.
Cuttings may be taken while dormant, placed in moist peat or sphagnum
moss, and held in cold storage at approximately 40 degrees F for spring
planting. One-year-old seedlings or rooted cuttings are usually large
enough for field planting.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

Mulching around each plant will improve seedling survival. Annual
pruning will considerably improve fruit yield. Removal of terminal
shoots and dead canes will reduce winter-kill and help control elder
borers.

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) {#cultivars-improved-and-selected-materials-and-area-of-origin .Header-3}

Seedlings or rooted cuttings are available commercially. Horticultural
selections or local and regional ecotypes are marketed by nurseries.

##### Prepared By & Species Coordinator:  {#prepared-by-species-coordinator .Header-3}

USDA NRCS Northeast Plant Materials Program

##### 

##### Edited: 05Feb2002 JLK; 060817 jsp {#edited-05feb2002-jlk-060817-jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*