Homegrown Habitat, August 2024: Black and Red Elderberries
Songbirds love to eat red elderberry. By Boris Gaberšček – http://www2.arnes.si/~bzwitt/flora/sambucus_racemosa.html, CC BY 2.5 si, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40902760
August 19, 2024—These two native elderberries are a vitally important and valuable part of the New England woods. As our Homegrown Habitat author Sarah Middeleer reported, in the wild, red elderberry is often found in cool woods, along stream banks, or on moist slopes; black elderberry grows along streams and in moist forests too but also occurs in disturbed areas.
But what about that name? Are elderberries named in honor of a community’s wise older citizens, its elders? The Herb Society of America says that the “elder” in elderberry comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “aeld,” which means “to kindle” or “fire,” because the hollowed-out stems of the elderberry plant were used to blow on kindling to help get fires going. Questions or thoughts about elderberry (or its name)? Email Sarah at habitat@ctaudubon.org.
Whose garden can’t use a little zip by this time of the summer? Mine sure can. Luckily I have a few elderberries. These large shrubs are valuable additions to the native plant garden because they support so much wildlife. But their flowers and fruit are showy as well and, given the right locations, elderberries can add welcome interest to the mid-summer garden.
There are two species of elderberry native to the Northeast: black (Sambucus nigra L. ssp. canadensis – formerly S. canadensis), and red (Sambucus racemosa). Both shrubs have many alternate common names, but black and red are the most common in the Northeast and aptly describe the fruit. Black elderberry typically grows a bit larger (most sources say 12 feet high) than red, but they are fairly similar in size and habit. Both shrubs are upright with slightly arching stems and produce suckers.
Black elderberry grows along streams and in moist forests too but also occurs in disturbed areas. By R. A. Nonenmacher – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43148138
I have black elderberry in my garden, and each summer I enjoy its long floral display. The small, white, fragrant flowers appear in July in round, slightly domed clusters called umbels. In full flower the elderberry seems to be adorned in lacy white parasols. While some flowers mature and begin turning into purple fruit, new flower clusters continue to appear.
By August, the shrub sports both white and purple in an attractive display. Last year it was still flowering intermittently until frost. Of the three elderberries I have in one bed, the one in the wettest part has grown the tallest and sets the most flowers and fruit. The entire bed is in full sun, which is recommended for black elderberry.
Red elderberry flowers earlier than black, from spring to midsummer. Its white flowers appear in pyramidal clusters that mature into bright red fruit. It will grow in full sun or part shade. It is effectively used at the woodland edge, in rain gardens, and as a screen in a moist area.
The dense roots and rhizomes of elderberries make them valuable for erosion control on steep slopes. In fact one author recommends harvesting dormant stems in February and simply sticking them in the thawing soil as soon as possible. They will evidently root right away, providing rapid slope stabilization.
Both elderberries serve many forms of wildlife, including 35 species of moths and butterflies, native bees, hummingbirds, over 100 species of songbirds, and many mammals. Unfortunately this list also includes deer, although heavy browsing by deer is not reported. This could be due to the natural cyanide-producing toxins in the stems, bark, leaves, and roots—which, incidentally, can make the fruit toxic to people unless cooked or fermented. Elderberries can also be toxic to pets.
The pithy stems of elderberry are used for nesting sites by native solitary bees. Pith is a soft, spongy tissue that forms in the twigs. As it ages the pith dries and disintegrates, leaving the stem hollow. Thus it is the previous year’s growth that provides an inviting spot for the bees to nest.
Black elderberry flowers grow in slightly domed clusters called umbels. By Cephas – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91945274
Because elderberry develops flowers and fruit on new growth, it can be pruned heavily in early spring to allow for easier harvesting (and perhaps a more suitable height for some gardens) that same summer. But if you opt for this approach, gently place the cuttings in a protected spot so that any overwintering bees can safely emerge when temperatures rise.
Elderberries have long been held as highly valuable for medicinal and culinary purposes, and their wood has served to make arrows, flutes, whistles, and maple taps. The flowers and fruits have been used to make wine, cordials, tea, syrup, jelly, pies, etc. Elderberries have even been used to make insecticide.
There are many cultivars (cultivated varieties) of the native elderberry species. We don’t typically discuss cultivars here because the subject is huge and often quite contentious. But I am compelled to mention a popular cultivar of elderberry called ‘Black Lace.’ This shrub has been bred to have finely cut, dark purple leaves and pink flowers.
But cultivars of native plants in which the foliage color has been bred to be red or purple are unappealing to the larval insects who would normally eat the leaves of that species, due to chemicals called anthocyanins in the dark foliage. With no caterpillars, the shrub is also useless to birds who need to feed their young. Thus, dark-leaved cultivars are not helpful if you are trying to garden for wildlife.
Do you have elderberries in your garden? Let us know if you’ve noticed birds eating their fruit, or other creatures utilizing their flowers or foliage–or any other observations about these native plants that you may wish to share! Drop us a line: habitat@ctaudubon.org.
Resources
Books
Anna Fialkoff et al., Native Shrubs for Northeast Landscapes, Wild Seed Project, 2023
Dan Jaffe and Mark Richardson, Native Plants for New England Gardens, Globe Pequot, 2018
Jared Rosenbaum, Wild Plant Culture A Guide to Restoring Edible and Medicinal Native Plant Communities, New Society Publishers, 2023
Websites
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sambucus-canadensis/
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SANIC4
https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/cs_sanic4.pdf
https://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/plant/Sambucus-nigra
https://xerces.org/blog/5-ways-to-increase-nesting-habitat-for-bees
https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/Plants/2917
https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2016/JuneJuly/Gardening/Cultivars
