Sambucus melanocarpa (syn: Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa)
Black Elderberry

Family: Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle family)

Photo taken at Swauk Pass, dry, open talus slope, elevation 4800 ft.

Flowers:

pyramidal or strongly convex inflorescence

Fruit:

purplish-black, not glaucous

Leaves:

pinnately compound; leaflets 4 to 12 cm, glabrous beneath or stiffly-hairy along veins

Plant:

1 to 2 meter tall shrub

Habitat:

streamsides, edges of meadow, or coniferous forest

Distribution of species:

western Canada to California, east to Utah and New Mexico

Distribution of genus:

20 species: temperate and subtropical regions