Tree of the Week

Week 16 – Sambucus nigra; Elder

This week I’ve seen the first elders in flower, the late May sun bringing them out in a warm south facing hedgerow.  In this context they are more like a large shrub than a tree, but they can grow to 10 metres in the right conditions. They prefer rich damp soils and often grow on disturbed soils. The form is very variable, sometimes with a main trunk and other stems growing up from the base, or sometimes just multi-stemmed. The flower head is roughly circular, about the size of your spread hand, made up of many tiny white flowers. Smell the flowers to confirm the identification – unsurprisingly the scent is of elderflower cordial, although different specimens seem to yield varying strengths of aroma. Leaves are oval, pointed at the end and with toothed edges and held in opposite pairs along the leaf stalk, with one leaflet at the end. The twigs are bumpy and the bark deeply grooved. The berries will be green ripening to black and used to make wine. A tough and very attractive native.

The Kew website will tell you everything else.