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Red Elderberry,
Sambucus pubens Michx. Coarse, vigorous shrub occasionally attaining a height of 4 m, as broad as it is high. Twigs: Light brown, somewhat hairy. Older branches have smooth brown bark marked with many warty lenticels. Younger stems have spongy, reddish brown pith. Buds: Winter buds are large, globular-shaped and greenish-yellow with purple-tipped scales. No terminal buds. Leaf scars are large with connecting lines between them. Leaves: Opposite and pinnately compound, divided into 5-7 leaflets. Leaflets are oblong to lanceolate, long-pointed, sharply toothed, dark green and smooth above, paler and usually downy beneath, and 8-12 cm long. Leaves drop with little change of color in autumn. Flowers: Form pyramidal or rounded clusters up to 10 cm high. Each flower is small, five-cleft corolla creamy white or pink, becoming brown when dry. Five stamens. Blooms in June and early July. Fruit: Brilliant red drupes, 5 mm in diameter, with 3-5 nutlets each. Not considered edible. Ripen by early August and remain on bush until mid-September. Usually quite abundant. Habitat: Rocky and dry woods, forest clearings, damp valleys, along brooks and roadsides. Occurs in western and central Newfoundland and east to the Clarenville area. Absent from Northern Peninsula, Avalon Peninsula, parts of the south and east coasts, and Labrador. Source:
Native Trees and Shrubs of Newfoundland and Labrador
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