Sambucus

Sambucus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae, including elderberries and elder trees. Its species bear clusters of small flowers and berry-like fruits.

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Adoxaceae: Adoxaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes elderberries, viburnums, and moschatels. Sambucus belongs to this family, whose classification distinguishes it from the honeysuckle family.
Elderberry: An elderberry is the dark fruit of certain Sambucus species, especially Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis. The common name foregrounds the fruits used in foods and commercial products.
Pollination: Pollination is the transfer of pollen to a flower's receptive structure, enabling fertilization in seed plants. Elder flowers must be pollinated before they can develop fruit and seeds.
Viburnum: Viburnum is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Adoxaceae, many of which bear clustered flowers and fleshy fruits. Viburnums are close family relatives that can resemble elders in leaves, flowers, and fruit clusters.
Angiosperm: An angiosperm is a flowering plant whose seeds develop within an ovary, usually enclosed in fruit. Sambucus is part of the flowering-plant lineage defined by enclosed seeds.
Sambucus nigra: Sambucus nigra, or black elder, is a European and western Asian elder species cultivated for its flowers and dark fruits. This widely used species supplies elderflowers and many culinary elderberries.
Fruit: A fruit is the mature ovary of a flowering plant, often containing and protecting seeds. The familiar elderberry is the mature fruit produced after flowering and fertilization.
Dwarf elder: Dwarf elder, Sambucus ebulus, is a herbaceous elder species native to parts of Europe and western Asia. Its common name can suggest a tree, but it differs from woody elder species in growth form.
Inflorescence: An inflorescence is a group or arrangement of flowers on a plant stem. Elder flowers are grouped into conspicuous clusters rather than borne singly.
Sambucus canadensis: Sambucus canadensis, or American elder, is a North American species bearing clusters of dark purple fruit. It is a major North American elderberry species used in food and cultivation.