Index / Search / Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis
§1 Plant — subspecies · Caprifoliaceae
Sambucus nigra L. ssp. canadensis (L.) R. Bolli
vernacular American black elderberry
§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
§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
§4Montana distribution
Recorded in 1 of 56 Montana counties.
Native · 1 counties
§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-2026-05-25
fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z