Blue Elderberry (American Elderberry, Common Elderberry)
Sambucus glauca
February 2, 1806, at Fort Clatsop, Oregon.
Large, many-branched, thicket-forming shrub or small tree often with several trunks with compact, rounded crown, numerous small, whitish flowers in large clusters, and bluish fruit. Leaves opposite; pinnately compound; 5-7 in (13-18 cm) long. Height: 25 ft (7.6 m). Diameter: 1 ft (0.3 m).
Moist soils along streams and canyons of mountains, in open areas in coniferous forests; also along roadsides, fencerows, and clearings.
Southern British Columbia south along coast to southern California, east in mountains to Trans-Pecos Texas, and north to western Montana.
Lewis and Clark first reported blue elder as an "alder" with "pale, sky blue" berries. A remedy for fever can be concocted from the bark.
