the official "are these elderberries?" thread

[Amy Boyd]

Have a bush you think might be elderberries, but aren't sure? Post here and get some help!

[Josie Lou]

Hi, am new to the site.

I live in England and have been foraging for Elderberries for a few years now. When out today, I found some Transparent green berries that I think are Elderberries but are not like what I usually collect. Can someone please have a look and let me know what they are? The leaf is a usual Elder leaf but they berries are green.

Much appreciated!

[Cracked Cork]

Josie, Looks like you found a wild Goldbeere, what a great find in the wild. Crackedcork

http://www.raintreenursery.com/Goldbeere_Elderberry_Gal_Pot.htmlold...

[Cracked Cork]

Josie, when  you said England I was thinking New England, not old England. In that case these green elderberries are well known to winemakers, check out the recipies on http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1009 , several use green elderberries, not the unripe red ones but the ones like you found. Crackedcork in the USA

[Cracked Cork]

Pretty Red berries, that are NOT elderberries but are out showing themselves now:

Amur Honeysuckle or Bush Honeysuckle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_maackii

 

 

[M. Lillian Hughes]

I picked these berries on the side of the road in southern Nebraska - are these elderberries or chokecherries or what?

[Cracked Cork]

Pokeberries, you should get a book or something on identifying edible plants before you go out and pick poisonous berries. Crackedcork

[J. F. Sabl]

Silky or Swamp dogwood, I think (Cornus amonum)

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/coam2.html

indeed not edible, so far as I can find out, but there are other cornus species that are decent-to-VERY nice edibles (don't want folks to get the wrong idea about cornus in general).

mary hughes said:

No this is dogwood or Cornus, or maybe Viburnum, but neither are good to eat!

sandi smith said:

is this an elderberry bush? I found this bush on my wooded lot in northeast ohio. it is growing wild, in june had clusters of white flowers, with yellow to pink centers and 4 petals per individual flower. now in august its getting bunches of small (1/4 inch each) bluish turquoise berries. I'd love to make eldeberry jam if this is an elderberry, when would be a good time to pick them?

[J. F. Sabl]

Thank you for saying this...Pokeberries and pokeweed (especially pokeweed that's mature enough to have berries) are both not only poisonous but even a contact (neuro)toxin and possible carcinogen.  Yes, people eat the young leaves, but after boiling in multiple changes of water....poke is the very last commonly eaten wild plant that anyone should try, as the toxicity may vary widely from area to area (different strains and different growing conditions). It makes me wild when I see kids playing with a mashed handful pokeberries (they call them "inkberries" around here). 

Cracked Cork said:

Pokeberries, you should get a book or something on identifying edible plants before you go out and pick poisonous berries. Crackedcork

[J. F. Sabl]

Most do...some don't...but so do some toxic berries that are totally unrelated.  Echoing cracked cork, once you spot berries, you have to back off...first identify the PLANT, which involves the way the leaves are constructed (the pattern of how they stick to the stem) and the size and shape and habitat of the plant...next, the way the flowers are formed, and size of the berries...purple berries and stems are not the ideal identifying trait.  

People are posting things here that come from annual plants (pokeweed) or vines... from plants with single leaves or 5 fingered leaves... the question should not even come up in their minds that these could possibly be elderberries, because there is no way the plants the berries come from could be an elderberry bush / tree.  

deb burns said:

do elderberries have a redish purplish short stem down from the berry itself?