Index / Search / Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea
§1 Plant
Sambucus nigra L. ssp. cerulea (Raf.) R. Bolli
vernacular blue elderberry — subspecies · Caprifoliaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae Juss.
- Genus
- Sambucus
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 192 counties across 12 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- High
- Shade
- Medium
- Moisture use
- Low
- Fire
- Medium
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- Low
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -38 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 80 min.
- Precipitation
- 10–60 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.9–7.5
- Root depth
- 12 in min.
- Fertility need
- Low
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Multiple Stem
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 23 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 23 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Flower colour
- White
- Fruit colour
- Black
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- Moderate
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Spring
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Moderate
- Stratify
- Yes
- Seeds / lb
- 197,590
- Propagation
- seed, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Contracting Only
- Nursery stock
- Yes
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- Yes
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 192 counties across 12 states/territories.
Arizona view state ↗ 10 N ▾
California view state ↗ 16 N ▾
Colorado view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Idaho view state ↗ 27 N ▾
- Adams 16003
- Bannock 16005
- Bear Lake 16007
- Benewah 16009
- Bonner 16017
- Bonneville 16019
- Boundary 16021
- Butte 16023
- Camas 16025
- Canyon 16027
- Cassia 16031
- Clearwater 16035
- Elmore 16039
- Franklin 16041
- Gem 16045
- Idaho 16049
- Kootenai 16055
- Latah 16057
- Lemhi 16059
- Lincoln 16063
- Nez Perce 16069
- Oneida 16071
- Owyhee 16073
- Power 16077
- Shoshone 16079
- Valley 16085
- Washington 16087
Montana view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Nevada view state ↗ 15 N ▾
New Mexico view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 33 N ▾
- Baker 41001
- Benton 41003
- Clackamas 41005
- Columbia 41009
- Coos 41011
- Crook 41013
- Curry 41015
- Deschutes 41017
- Douglas 41019
- Gilliam 41021
- Grant 41023
- Harney 41025
- Hood River 41027
- Jackson 41029
- Jefferson 41031
- Josephine 41033
- Klamath 41035
- Lake 41037
- Lane 41039
- Lincoln 41041
- Linn 41043
- Malheur 41045
- Marion 41047
- Multnomah 41051
- Polk 41053
- Sherman 41055
- Umatilla 41059
- Union 41061
- Wallowa 41063
- Wasco 41065
- Washington 41067
- Wheeler 41069
- Yamhill 41071
Texas view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Utah view state ↗ 29 N ▾
- Beaver 49001
- Box Elder 49003
- Cache 49005
- Carbon 49007
- Daggett 49009
- Davis 49011
- Duchesne 49013
- Emery 49015
- Garfield 49017
- Grand 49019
- Iron 49021
- Juab 49023
- Kane 49025
- Millard 49027
- Morgan 49029
- Piute 49031
- Rich 49033
- Salt Lake 49035
- San Juan 49037
- Sanpete 49039
- Sevier 49041
- Summit 49043
- Tooele 49045
- Uintah 49047
- Utah 49049
- Wasatch 49051
- Washington 49053
- Wayne 49055
- Weber 49057
Washington view state ↗ 36 N ▾
- Asotin 53003
- Benton 53005
- Chelan 53007
- Clallam 53009
- Clark 53011
- Columbia 53013
- Cowlitz 53015
- Douglas 53017
- Ferry 53019
- Garfield 53023
- Grant 53025
- Grays Harbor 53027
- Jefferson 53031
- King 53033
- Kitsap 53035
- Kittitas 53037
- Klickitat 53039
- Lewis 53041
- Lincoln 53043
- Mason 53045
- Okanogan 53047
- Pacific 53049
- Pend Oreille 53051
- Pierce 53053
- San Juan 53055
- Skagit 53057
- Skamania 53059
- Snohomish 53061
- Spokane 53063
- Stevens 53065
- Thurston 53067
- Wahkiakum 53069
- Walla Walla 53071
- Whatcom 53073
- Whitman 53075
- Yakima 53077
Wyoming view state ↗ 2 N ▾
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/SANIC5 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/2888726 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z