Adoxaceae FAMILY

Sambucus caerulea

Edibility

4/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

The leaves, green fruits and stems of some (if not all) members of this genus are poisonous[ 9 Title Edible and Medicinal Plants. Publication Author Launert. E. Publisher Hamlyn Year 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2 Description Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information. , 76 Title Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. Publication Author Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Publisher HMSO Year 1984 ISBN 0112425291 Description Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock. , 226 Title Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Publication Author Lauriault. J. Publisher Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. Year 1989 ISBN 0889025649 Description Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses. ]. The fruit of this species has been known to cause stomach upsets to some people. Any toxin the fruit might contain is liable to be of very low toxicity and is destroyed when the fruit is cooked[ 65 Title A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Publication Author Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. Publisher Wolfe Year 1984 ISBN 0723408394 Description Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far. , 76 Title Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. Publication Author Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Publisher HMSO Year 1984 ISBN 0112425291 Description Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock. ].

Botanical Description

Sambucus caerulea is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 3.00 metres tall. It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeWestern N. America - British Columbia to California, east to Montana, Texas and Mexico.

HabitatGravelly, rather dry soils on stream banks, margins of fields, woodlands etc[ 62 Title A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Publication Author Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. Publisher Van Nostrand Reinhold Year 1982 ISBN 0442222009 Description Very readable. , 82 Title Manual of the Trees of N. America. Publication Author Sargent. C. S. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ Publisher Dover Publications Inc. New York. Year 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X Description Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet. ].