Adoxaceae / Sambucus cerulea / Blue Elderberry / Ba∙duɁ (bah-dooh)

Adoxaceae or Viburnaceae?! Sambucus cerulea or S. nigra subsp. cerulea?! Tree or shrub?! AHH!! Our Native Blue Elderberry (at least we can agree on a common name!) is a plant which contains many, sometimes opposing, multitudes. While the former plague only the taxonomically inclined, the increasing presence of mature green-berried forms have caused quite a commotion among most everyone with a stake in this magnificent plant.

We’ve been called out by botanists and herbalists alike; who claim that despite what our senses tell us (common being among them), these simply “don’t exist”. So, we figured it’s about “ripe” time to break it down for the naysayers! We’ve been noticing these forms for the last couple years and this summer, met up with @Pascal_Baudar at the peak of their ripeness to take another look.  

As previously implied, Blue Elderberry can be greatly variable. While generally a shrub peaking at around 8m; specimens in southern California can greatly exceed that number, often with a single trunk whose circumference is larger than my own personal wingspan. Stems have a spongy, cotton-like pith which is easily removed. Leaves are odd-pinnately compound with oppositely arranged, serrately margined leaflets. Inflorescence is a panicle of cymes, generally flat-topped and tightly packed with greenish-white flowers. Their drupe, berry-like fruits follow, typically maturing to a deep blue or purple with glaucus coating...Which takes us right back-round to the controversy.

In the Los Angeles area, there are a number of specimens whose mature drupes are green! These hold all the characteristics of ripeness: glaucus coating and tender fruits freely falling from their pedicels. Interestingly enough, they are significantly sweeter than most of the blue forms, pointing to a difference in phytochemistry as well as morphology.

So what’s going on? While our research is only in it's infancy; early thoughts range from climate to hybridization to herbivory response. Upcoming DNA sequencing and teasing out the individual chemical makeup should hopefully provide a bit more insight! Have you had experiences with these curious fruits?