Red Elderberry

I haven't seen elderberry in 50 years. They turn almost black when ripe (or maybe this is a different variety?) I don't remember ever seeing them in a garden, only on dusty back roads. As kids, we used to pick those for mother to make elderberry pie.

The black berries are a different species.

Not that they aren't common but this is the first I've noticed them. The park rapids area has a wider diversity of soils so that my account for seeing them where I did.

There are a number of Sambucus species native to North America....some have dark, almost black berries, some have blue berries and some have red. All are edible although taste varies and cooking is generally required :-))

Cultivated forms of elderberry - and there are many - are usually cultivars of Sambucus racemosa or red elderberry.

Sambucus are nitrogen loving plants and typically grow where organic matter is plentiful.