Trees of Alabama and the Southeast Home Page

Leaves are pinnately compound, opposite and deciduous with 5-7 pairs of toothed leaflets and a grooved rachis.  Twigs are stout and green-gray with lenticels and crescent-shaped leaf scars.  The twigs are smelly when bruised.  Bark is gray and smooth with corky projections.  Fruit is a purple berry-like drupe.  Elder-berry is a shrub or small tree found on wet to moist sites, often in drainage ditches, in the east and central U.S. and is shade intolerant.  The fruits are popular with birds and used in jams, pies, teas and wines.

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All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for commercial use in any form.  All photographs are copyrighted by the named photographer(s), text copyright by Lisa Samuelson. © 2005, all rights reserved. Photographs by Mike Hogan.