Sambucus nigra L. ssp. cerulea (Raf.) R. Bolli

vernacular blue elderberry — subspecies · Caprifoliaceae

USDA: SANIC5
GBIF: 2888726 syn.
Rank: subspecies

blue elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea) — Platephotograph · Attila OláhCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & 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

· 9 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 9 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§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 9 counties across 1 state.

Montana view state ↗ 9 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-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z