Red Elderberry - Sambucus Racemosa

Deciduous large shrub or small tree, 6-20 ft high, soft pithy twigs. Sun and part shade, in habitat prefers forest-edge location and moist soils. Hardy to USDA Zone 3.

Leaves opposite, pinnately compound, 5-7 leaflets, each 5-17 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, ovate or lanceolate, acuminate, sharply toothed, unequal at base, bright green, often somewhat hairy below.  Flowers yellowish-white, 5-lobed, 6 mm wide, in clusters that are pyramidal to dome shaped.  

Fruits bright red, not edible when raw, but when cooked they make a good jam, pie, and wine