Common name:
Elder
Family:
Scientific name:
Sambucus nigra
Main flower color:
Range:
All of the UK; less common only in the Scottish Highlands
Height:
Up to 10 m; a tree or large shrub
Habitat:
Woodland, hedgebanks
Flowers:
Creamy-white, 5 mm in diameter, with five ovate petals alternating with five similar-length stamens, which have white filaments and yellow anthers. The inflorescence is a flat-topped cluster of many branches, up to 20 cm across
Fruit:
Clusters of black berries
Leaves:
Opposite, pinnately divided into five or seven ovate, hairless, shallowly-toothed leaflets, up to 9 cm long
Season:
June to July
Rarity:
★★★★★
