Red berries everywhere
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Red elderberry
Red elderberry; alpine elderberry Punane leeder Sambucus racemosa
For some reason the little berries of the red elder are believed to be poisonous. The seeds are slightly toxic but the fruit flesh is tasty and quite wholesome. So – avoid eating raw berries and the seeds. From the ripe berries even jelly can be made.
The red elder shrub owes its wide distribution to birds, they eat the berries (botanically drupes, or stone fruits) with gusto, and there are many in the clusters. Taking in account that each little fruit contains 3 – 5 seeds then one shrub can have thousands of descendants...
We find the red elderberry in arbitrary spots at forest verges, ruined buildings, wastelands, rubbish dumps ... growing where it is no competitor to people, or gets in their way. The fast-growing and undemanding shrub grows up to 3-4 meters in height, the only prerequisite is a soil poor in lime. Its leaves have 5 - 7 leaflets, dull green on the upper side, undersides blue-green, with a sharp tip and serrated margins.
Birds are happy to nest in red elder shrubs.
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