Sambucus cerulea – Blue Elderberry – Adoxaceae (The Viburnum Family)

Description Sambucus cerulea is the blue elderberry native to BC south to California. It is a tall, fast-growing shrub up to 20 feet in height and width usually with several stems. Masses of creamy-white flowers emerge in umbel-shaped clusters that emit a strong, unpleasant odour. Clusters of juicy, berry-like fruits follow. They are bluish-black with a powdery coating taking on a light blue colour. Raw berries are mildly toxic to humans but edible when cooked. A spectacular shrub that can be trained to become a multi-trunked tree or heavily pruned during dormancy, plants will also stay much smaller if grown in dry conditions. The leaves are pinnate and elliptical to lance-shaped. First Nations people used all parts of the plants for medicinal remedies and for food. The wood was used to make musical instruments and the stems and berries for dye. In the landscape, use in the native or open woodland gardens, for habitat restoration, as a specimen plant, for informal screens or hedges, and near ponds and streams. Attracts hummingbirds, other pollinators, other bird species and chipmunks. Tolerates drought, deer, clay and wet soil. Photo: Wikimedia.