Useful and Edible Plants of California / Blue elderberry (Sambucus coerula)

• Favored habitats include open woods, brushy or grass-covered hillsides and stream banks (thrives on warmth, so it is usually more common away from the immediate coast).
• Berries ripen in July and August (rich in Vitamin C).
• The wood was used to make a flute, clapper stick, fire spindle, arrow shaft or bow.
• The red elderberry is poisonous (coastal species grows along streams that flow directly to the ocean).