What's Blooming Now?

Some have linked the name of elderberry (sambucus canadensis) to a corruption of Hyldemoer, the name of a wood nymph of Northern European folklore who made the elderberry tree his home. I prefer to think of elder in its modern sense, because this tall shrub is truly an elder statesman among the plants that have served humankind.

Seeds of elderberry have been associated with some of the oldest human cultures, and legends link elderberry with everything from the wood of the cross of Christ to the ability to keep witches away. Elderberries found across much of Eurasia and into Africa include some that grow to tree dimensions. Those in North America are only tall shrubs.

Sunny rural roadsides, rich soils and wetland edges provide habitat for elderberry. Although a plant that flowers in late spring or early summer in more northern areas, in South Florida elderberry flowers can be found almost anytime. After a midwinter respite and flush of new growth, large clouds of elder flowers appear in March. The clusters can be more than a foot across, and include hundreds of tiny blooms, each of which will give rise to a small, green berry that becomes deep purple when ripe.

Elderberries are important food for wildlife and have been cultivated since at least the late 1700s for use in landscaping and as a source of fruit and flowers for making jelly, wine and breads. The bark of elderberry has been used to make a black dye.

-Jerome A. Jackson,

Florida Gulf Coast University