Blue Elderberry, Sambucus mexicana

About Blue Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) 68 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Blue Elderberry, Mexican Elderberry, or Tapiro is a deciduous shrub or small tree, growing up to as tall as 30 feet. It is native from Oregon to Baja all the way to western Texas. It has cream or yellow flowers in the spring and purple berries in the fall. Its berries are one of the most important source of food for birds in California.

Blue Elderberry is tough, easy to grow, and grows very rapidly. It can grow from a 1 gallon container to a 15 foot tree in 3 years if happy. It handles a variety of different soil moisture levels once established. It can handle permanently moist soil near stream sides or seeps, and will thrive next to or in regularly irrigated areas. Once established, it also grows well in fairly dry soils, though in drier conditions it will normally go deciduous or semi-deciduous in the summer and fall, and green up in the early winter. Drought-stressed Blue Elderberry's often end up more attractive than ones that get plenty of year round water, frequently developing interesting gnarled branches and thicker though shorter trunks over time. It likes part shade or sun, and will tolerate full shade, though in full shade it will look rangy as its branches search out for more sun.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub, Tree

Size

20 - 30 ft tall
20 - 30 ft wide

Form

Fountain

Growth Rate

Fast

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, Yellow, Purple

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

Many bird species . Elderberries are one of the most important source of food for birds in California
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 23 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Polyphemus moth Antheraea polyphemusAntheraea polyphemus

Alfalfa Looper Moth Autographa californicaAutographa californica

Salt Marsh Moth or Acrea Moth Estigmene acreaEstigmene acrea

Virginian Tiger Moth Spilosoma virginicaSpilosoma virginica

The Small Engrailed Ectropis crepusculariaEctropis crepuscularia

Common Gray Anavitrinella pampinariaAnavitrinella pampinaria

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Shade, Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 68

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5° ; F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

Tolerates a variety of soils but prefers well-drained soils with moisture. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

Common uses

Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia); Coast Live Oak, White Flowering Currant

Maintenance

Accepts pruning readily .

Natural Setting

Site Type

Streambanks, slope bottoms, canyons, slightly moister places throughout the state. It occurs in conjunction with a variety of vegetation types including chaparral, sage scrub, grassland, and wetland-riparian.

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.7" - 153.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 5.67", Coldest Month: 24.3" - 57.2", Hottest Month: 47.0" - 80.8", Humidity: 0.01" - 31.90", Elevation: -221" - 10519"

Alternative Names

Botanical Names: Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea
Common Names: Common Elderberry, Mexican Elderberry

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Blue Elderberry

Sambucus mexicana

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Blue ElderberrySambucus mexicana

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Blue Elderberry

Sambucus mexicana