Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Growing American elderberry plants, also called American elder, is easy to do in most parts of the country. Native to North America, this large flowering and fruitful shrub attracts bees ...
Elderberry fruit or flowers are used as dietary supplements to prevent or provide relief from minor diseases, such as flu, colds, constipation, and other conditions, served as a tea, extract or in a capsule. [15] The use of elderberry supplements increased early in the COVID-19 pandemic. [24]
The plant is widely grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree. Both the flowers and the berries have a long tradition of culinary use, primarily for cordial and wine. [ 4 ] Although the plant is commonly used in dietary supplements and traditional medicine , there is no scientific evidence that it provides any significant health benefit.
In summer, it bears large (20–30 cm or 8–12 in diameter) corymbs of white flowers above the foliage, the individual flowers 5–6 millimetres (3 ⁄ 16 – 1 ⁄ 4 in) diameter, with five petals. The fruit (known as an elderberry) is a dark purple to black berry 3–5 mm diameter, produced in drooping clusters in the fall.
Sambucus racemosa is medium-sized shrub growing 2–4 m (7–13 ft) (rarely 6 m (20 ft)) tall. The stems are soft, with a broad pith.. Each individual leaf is composed of 5 to 7 leaflike leaflets, each of which is up to 4–8 cm (1 + 1 ⁄ 2 – 3 + 1 ⁄ 4 in) (rarely to 16 cm (6 + 1 ⁄ 4 in)) long, lance-shaped to narrowly oval, and irregularly serrated along the edges.
The plant is classified by several different botanical names. Both the current United States Department of Agriculture database and The Jepson Manual of California flora (2013) classify it as S. nigra subsp. cerulea. [1] [2] The Sunset Western Garden Book identifies the plant as Sambucus mexicana, and note use of S. caerulea also. [5] [6]
Elaeagnus plants are deciduous or evergreen shrubs or small trees. [3] The alternate leaves and the shoots are usually covered with tiny silvery to brownish scales, giving the plants a whitish to grey-brown colour from a distance. The flowers are small, with a four-lobed calyx and no petals; they are often fragrant.
The flowers are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a reddish-purple pome, resembling a small apple in shape. They ripen in summer and are very popular with birds. [5] [6] [7] The fruit is eaten by over 40 species of birds and various mammals, including squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, mice, voles, foxes, black bears, deer, and elk. [4]