Sambucus / elderberry It looks like the native type. When we lived in the backcountry of San Diego, there were both the whitish* and bluish berried shrubs growing wild.

*ETA The whitish berried ones meet with some dispute by people that think we are referring to the blush on the blue berries, but that is not the case IMO. I lived there for many years, and the lighter color was consistent from year to year on individual plants and the berries never changed to blue. Also, rubbing off the blush did not reveal a blue berry. The birds make short work of the ripened berries of both types.

Is that the plant they use to make the liqueur "sambuca?"

I'm not that familiar with sambuca. Is it generally made in Italy, or other regions, too? If in Europe, they most likely use a different species of Sambucus. I don't know how interchangeable the species are as to berry use/taste.

Elderberry is only an incidental flavoring of sambuca and is often omitted entirely. It is primarily a star anise flavored liqueur, which accounts for its distinctly licorice taste. Kind of the Italian equivalent of ouzo. Potent stuff!!

Thanks for the information. We'll leave it be and will likely try to sample the berries if the native birds and beasts don't beat us to them.

The berries make a richly flavored jelly of an extremely deep purple. I lived in Montana for a while and could collect a whole lot of wild berries for jelly. Good stuff. Sambucus grows all over the west.