New York Metropolitan Flora

Genus: Sambucus

By Steven D. Glenn

Not peer reviewed

Last Modified 01/25/2013

Back to Adoxaceae

Nomenclature

Sambucus L., Sp. Pl. 1: 269. 1753. Gen. Pl., ed. 5, 130. 1754. Tripetalus Lindl. in T. Mitch., Three Exped. Australia ed. 2, 1: 14. 1839, nom. illeg. (Art. 52.1). Ebulum Garcke, Fl. N. Mitt. Deutschland ed. 7, 184. 1865, nom. illeg. (Art. 52.1). LECTOTYPE: Sambucus nigra L. designated by Britton & Brown (1913).

Key to the species of Sambucus

1. Pith white; inflorescences 5-rayed from the base, lacking a central axis above the lowermost branches...Sambucus canadensis
1. Pith brown; inflorescences paniclelike, with the main axis extending well above the lowermost branches...Sambucus racemosa

List of Sambucus Species

Sambucus canadensis Sambucus nigra Sambucus racemosa

References to Sambucus

  • Artiushenko, Z. T. 1948. Morphological nature of the lower ovary in some representatives of the Caprifoliaceae family. (In Russian). Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow & Lenengrad) 33: 202-12.
  • Baillon, H. 1880. Rubiacees. Hist. Pl. 7: 257-503. (In French)
  • Benko-Iseppon, A. M.; Morawetz, W. 1993. Cold-induced chromosome regions and karyosystematics in Sambucus and Viburnum. Botanica Acta 106: 183-191.
  • Bohnke-Gutlein, E.; Weberling, F. 1981. Palynologic investigations of the Caprifoliaceae: 1. Sambuceae, Viburneae and Diervilleae. Abh. Akad. Wiss. Lit. Mainz, Math-Naturwiss. Klasse 34: 1-63. (In German)
  • Bolli, R. 1994. Revision of the genus Sambucus. Dissertationes Botanicae 223: 1-256.
  • Cram, W. H. 1982. Seed germination of elder (Sambucus pubens) and honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica). Hortscience 17: 618-619.
  • Crane, M. F. 1989. Sambucus racemosa ssp. pubens. ()
  • Davis, O. H. 1927. Germination and early growth of Cornus florida, Sambucus canadensis, and Berberis thunbergii. Bot. Gaz. 84: 225-63.
  • De Vos, F. 1951. The stem anatomy of some species of the Caprifoliaceae with reference to phylogeny and identification of the species. Ph.D. Dissertation Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY81 p.
  • Debor, H. W. 1977. Bibliography of the international literature on the elderberry (Sambucus sp.). (Ref. in Bibliogr. Agric., 41(12):120148. 1977.)
  • Denslow, J. S. 1987. Fruit removal rates from aggregated and isolated bushes of the red elderberry, Sambucus pubens. Canad. J. Bot. 65: 1229-1235.
  • Donoghue, M. J. 1985. Pollen diversity and exine evolution in Viburnum and the Caprifoliaceae sensu lato. J. Arnold Arbor. 66: 421-469.
  • Eames, E. H. 1916. Some varieties and forms of Connecticut plants. Rhodora 18: 239-240.
  • Eriksson, T.; Donoghue, M. J. 1997. Phylogenetic relationships of Sambucus and Adoxa (Adoxoideae, Adoxaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences and preliminary morphological data. Syst. Bot. 22: 555-573. (Also Viburnum)
  • Esau, K. 1945. Vascularization of the vegetative shoots of Helianthus and Sambucus. Amer. J. Bot. 32: 18-29.
  • Ferguson, I. K. 1966. The genera of the Caprifoliaceae in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 47: 33-59.
  • Fernald, M. L. 1933. Recent discoveries in the Newfoundland flora. Rhodora 35(417): 298-315.
  • Fukuoka, N. 1987. Classification and distribution of Sambucus. Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 38: 303-310. (In Japanese)
  • Fukuoka, N. 1974. Taxonomy of the Caprifoliaceae. Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 26(1-2): 18-27. (In Japanese)
  • Gerard, W. R. 1895. Origin of the name Sambucus. Gard. & Forest 8: 368.
  • Hidayati, S. N. 2000. A comparative study of seed dormancy in five genera of Caprifoliaceae s.l. Ph.D. Dissertation Univ. Kentucky, Lexington,
  • Hidayati, S. N.; Baskin, J. M.; Baskin, C. C. 2000. Morphophysiological dormancy in seeds of two North American and one Eurasian species of Sambucus (Caprifoliaceae) with underdeveloped spatulate embryos. Amer. J. Bot. 87: 1669-1678.
  • Hillebrand, G. R.; Fairbrothers, D. E. 1970. Phytoserological systematic survey of the Caprifoliaceae. Brittonia 22: 125-133. (Also Cornus & Nyssa)
  • Höck, F. 1892. Zur systematichen Stellung von Sambucus. Bot. Centralbl. 51: 233-234.
  • Jacobs, B. et.al. 2010. Evolution and systematic value of fruit and seed characters in Adoxaceae (Dipsacales). Taxon 59: 850-866.
  • Leif, J. W. et.al. 2011. Comparison of seed germination techniques for common elderberry (Sambucus nigra L. ssp. canadensis). Native Plants J. 12: 132-135.
  • Maciejewska, I. 1998. Seed and stone morphology of the Polish species of the family Caprifoliaceae. Fragm. Flor. Geobot. 43: 189-214.
  • Ourecky, D. K. 1970. Chromosome morphology in the genus Sambucus. Amer. J. Bot. 57: 239-244.
  • Pixler, V. A. 1950. The Caprifoliaceae of West Virginia. Castanea 15: 80-91.
  • Quimby, D. C. 1951. The life history and ecology of the jumping mouse Zapus hudsonius. Ecol. Monogr. 21: 61-95.
  • Reidt, G.; Leins, P. 1994. The initiation of the sympetalous corolla in Sambucus racemosa L. and Viburnum farreri Stearn. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 116: 1-9. (In German; English summary)
  • Ritter, C. M.; McKee, G. W. 1964. The elderberry, history, classification, and culture. Pennsylvania State Coll. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 709: 24 pp..
  • Robertson, C. 1892. Flowers and insects. IX. Bot. Gaz. 17: 269-276.
  • Rose, R. C. 1919. After-ripening and germination of seeds of Tilia, Sambucus, and Rubus. Bot. Gaz. 67: 281-308.
  • Samutina, M. L. 1986. Comparative morphological analysis of pollen of the genus Sambucus (Caprifoliaceae). Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow & Lenengrad) 71: 168-175. (In Russian; English summary)
  • Samutina, M. L. 1986. Changes in the system of the genus Sambucus (Caprifoliaceae). Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow & Lenengrad) 71: 1557-1559. (In Russian)
  • Sax, K.; Kribs, D. A. 1930. Chromosomes and phylogeny in Caprifoliaceae. J. Arnold Arbor. 11: 147-153.
  • Sherburne, J. A. 1972. Effects of seasonal changes in the abundance and chemistry of the fleshy fruits of northeastern woody shrubs on patterns of exploitation by frugivorous birds. Ph.D. Dissertation Cornell University, Ithaca, NY157 p.
  • Truscott, M. 2004. Cuisinart for cleaning elderberry (Sambucus spp. L. [Capfrifoliaceae]) seeds. Native Plants J. 5: 46.
  • Wilkinson, A. M. 1948. Floral anatomy and morphology of some species of the tribes Linnaeeae and Sambuceae of the Caprifoliaceae. Amer. J. Bot. 35: 365-371.
  • Wilkinson, A. M. 1945. The floral anatomy and morphology of some species of Cornus and of the Caprifoliaceae. , Thesis Cornell Univ.148 p.
  • von Schwerin, F. 1909. Monographie der Gattung Sambucus. Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges. 18: 1-56. (In German)
  • von Schwerin, F. 1920. Revisio generis Sambucus. Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges. 29: 194-231.