Sambucus caerulea
Blue elderberry · also Blue elder
Report an issue with this species
The blue elderberry is a winter-deciduous shrub that can reach heights greater than 25 feet. It produces cream-colored flowers in spring followed by dark blue, wax-covered berries that attract birds. It tolerates coastal scrub and chaparral habitats but rarely has a single trunk, making it often considered a large shrub rather than a tree.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 1990.04%35 yr7.5 in
Traits
- Form
- Multi-trunk
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Mature height
- 10–20 ft
- Canopy spread
- 10–20 ft
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Drought tolerance
- Moderate
- Wildlife value
- High
- Tolerates
- coastal
- Blooms
- Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Trunk diameters across every city: median 7.5 in, mean 9.5 in, 90th percentile 18 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands & Scrub
- California coastal sage and chaparral
- California interior chaparral and woodlands
- California montane chaparral and woodlands
Temperate Conifer Forests
- Northern California coastal forests
Other Sambucus in the catalogue
5 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.
