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Index / Search / Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis

§1 Plant

Sambucus nigra L. ssp. canadensis (L.) R. Bolli

vernacular American black elderberry — subspecies · Caprifoliaceae

USDA
SANIC4
GBIF
6369819 syn.
Rank
subspecies
American black elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis)
Platephotograph · Attila OláhCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§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
  • HI Hawaii Introduced
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
  • PB Pacific Basin (except Hawaii) Introduced
  • PR Puerto Rico Native
  • VI U.S. Virgin Islands Introduced
§2b

County-level range

· 1,694 counties across 36 states/territories
Legend Native · 1694 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
Shade
High
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
Low
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-28 °F minimum
Frost-free days
100 min.
Precipitation
34–60 in/yr
pH range
5–8.9
Root depth
16 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Rapid
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
7 ft
Height @ 20 y
7 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
White
Fruit colour
Blue
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Moderate
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
291,590
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Medium
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
Yes
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 1,694 counties across 36 states/territories.

Alabama view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Arizona view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 75 N ▾
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 55 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 46 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 102 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 86 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 23 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 81 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 120 N ▾
Louisiana view state ↗ 64 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 16 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 77 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 47 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 61 N ▾
Missouri view state ↗ 114 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 44 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 10 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 18 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 43 N ▾
North Carolina view state ↗ 90 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Ohio view state ↗ 84 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 67 N ▾
Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 43 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 51 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 10 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 100 N ▾
West Virginia view state ↗ 45 N ▾
Wisconsin view state ↗ 64 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/SANIC4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/6369819 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T08:39:52Z