This journal is mostly public because most of it contains poetry, quotations, pictures, jokes, videos, and news (medical and otherwise). If you like what you see, you are welcome to drop by, anytime. I update frequently.
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Edited 2019-09-11 05:58 pm (UTC)
Thanks!
Edited 2019-09-12 09:25 am (UTC)
The common elderberry of our East Coast is Sambuca canadensis (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/sambucus-canadensis/), also called American elderberry (https://homeguides.sfgate.com/difference-between-american-elder-elderberry-tree-77489.html) - here's more images (https://www.ecosia.org/images?q=Sambucus+canadensis) to compare.
All elderberries are somewhat toxic, but according to this site on Sambucus ebulus (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871274/), "Stomach upset also could happen by the fruit of these species. Yet, this toxicity is at such a low level that could be prevented by cooking." I wouldn't advise picking them in any case; the world is full of better things to eat.
Edited 2019-09-13 06:19 am (UTC)
Yeah, there are definitely better things to experiment with.
On the other hand, any berry with drupelets is safe to eat, and we have plenty of those too; mulberries, blackberries, raspberries, marionberries, thimbleberries, salmonberries - more than enough for everybody's pie, jam and wine.
The middle and bottom ones are hard to identify without knowing whether it's a shrub or a baby tree, and without seeing any flowers or fruits. If it's a baby tree, it could be lime or poplar or aspen. Further research necessary!
Edited 2019-09-12 09:29 am (UTC)
Here, this is Sambucus nigra, the edible (after cooking!) one. If you contrast it with your picture, you can see that it really is an entirely different plant. The leaves of Sambucus nigra consist of up to five (rarely seven) leaflets, whereas your plant up there has up to nine. The leaves are rounder than those of the plant in your picture, and their margins are much more serrated. The berry clusters of Sambucus nigra are loose and drooping, whereas those of Sambucus ebulus have much shorter stems and are arranged similar to ivy berries. The bark, too, is different.
TL;DR That plant in your picture definitely isn't the kind of elder you should be using in those recipes that
Edited 2019-09-12 02:07 pm (UTC)
Dwarf elder (https://plantsam.com/sambucus-ebulus/), Sambucus ebulus, isn't a shrub (has no woody stem) and apparently the flowers and berries grow only at the top of the plant, not all over the branches like American elderberry. Also, it doesn't grow wild in the state of Maryland.
(Sorry for all the edits; can't get images to embed.)
Edited 2019-09-13 06:47 am (UTC)
I just wanted to make sure it wasn't some super-poisonous or, especially, dangerous on contact (like poison ivy) plant, as it's growing right where the raspberry bushes are.
This is poison sumac (https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpecies.php?species=1419&showAll=1) - it has leaflets, but definitely does not have (https://www.thespruce.com/poison-sumac-pictures-4071931) purple berries, so you're good.
Edited 2019-09-14 08:23 am (UTC)
Re: the middle and bottom photos--it looks like a large weed! Grew a few weeks ago down our street, by the side of the road.