Sambucus

Sambucus is a genus of between 20 and 30 species of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly referred to as elder, with the flowers as elderflower, and the fruit as elderberry.

== Description == Elders are mostly fast-growing shrubs or small trees (rarely to ) tall, with a few species being herbaceous plants tall. The oppositely arranged leaves are pinnate with 5–9 leaflets (or, rarely, 3 or 11). Each leaf is long, and the leaflets have serrated margins. They bear large clusters of small white or cream-coloured flowers in late spring or early summer; these are followed by clusters of small berries that are green when immature, ripening black, blue-black, or red (rarely yellow or white).