Why We Love It:
Elderberry is native to Europe and the eastern Mediterranean and has traditionally been used as an immune tonic, especially in the colder months. Other related species of elder grow throughout the temperate regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and are prized for their fruits, flowers, and ornamental foliage. Elders are an important source of food for wildlife throughout their range, especially fruit-eating birds, but should not be consumed raw by humans since all parts of the plant contain compounds that cause stomach upset, which can only be removed by cooking.
What It Looks Like:
European Elder is a large, fast-growing shrub or small tree with gray bark and large green leaves with serrated margins and five to seven leaflets each. The leaves grow in pairs opposite each other on new stems of the bush. The small five-petalled white flowers grow in large flat groups called corymbs at the end of each stem and are present from late spring through mid-summer. The berries are small, round, glossy, deep purple to black, typically growing in clusters, and ripening through autumn.
