Red Coast Elder (Sambucus callicarpa)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −23.3 °C
Cultivation
Tolerates most soils, including chalk. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame, when it should germinate in early spring. Stored seed can be sown in the spring in a cold frame but will probably germinate better if it is given 2 months warm followed by 2 months cold stratification first. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If good growth is made, the young plants can be placed in their permanent positions during the early summer. Otherwise, either put them in a sheltered nursery bed, or keep them in their pots in a sheltered position and plant them out in spring of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth 15 - 20cm with a heel, late autumn in a frame or a sheltered outdoor bed.
Edible uses
Fruit - raw or cooked. Some caution is advised, see notes above on toxicity. Flowers - raw or cooked.
Medicinal uses
The leaves are abortifacient, analgesic, oxytocic and poultice. The bark is cathartic. The fruit has been cooked and eaten as a treatment for stomach problems.
Habitat
River banks in low moist soils from sea-level to 2400 metres.
Native range
Western N. America - Alaska to California.