Mexican Elder
Sambucus nigra caerulea
Sambucus mexicana
Pen and ink sketch by Mike Plagens.
TREE: Large shrub or small tree with usually multiple main stems and dark green
leaves.
RANGE: Fairly common in riparian zones as a component of mesquite
bosques mostly at elevations above 800 m in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.
Occasionally used in landscaping in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. Various
taxonomic treatments have lumped or split the Mexican Elder with other
populations of the Blue Elderberry that range through much of the western
United States.
FLOWERS: Large, flat-topped panicles of small white flowers in mid to
late spring and occasionally into summer.
FRUIT: Small dark or bluish berries, summer to fall.
UNARMED.
LEAVES: Large compound leaves are opposite on the stems.
At Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona. 05 May 2019.