Stats

Lifespan: Up to 100 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate woodland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

Blue elderberry is a native western North American shrub or small tree that produces flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers followed by deep blue-black berries coated in a distinctive waxy bloom — that powdery blue haze is what gives the species both its common and scientific name (cerulea means "sky blue").

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Viburnaceae
Genus: Sambucus
Species: Sambucus cerulea