North China red elder is a shrub or small tree from northeastern Asia whose stems have long been used in Chinese medicine to help mend broken bones. It isn't native to the US, but it is occasionally grown in gardens and arboretums as a hardy ornamental with creamy flower clusters and small red berries.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A deciduous shrub or small tree that can reach about 18 ft (5.5 m). Older branches have reddish-brown bark with narrow, conspicuous pores.
- Leaves
- Leaves are opposite and , with 2 to 3 pairs of leaflets plus one at the tip. Leaflets are about 2–6 in (5–15 cm) long and irregularly toothed.
- Flowers
- Small flowers crowd into dense clusters at the branch tips. Buds are pinkish and open white to creamy yellow.
- Flowering time
- Spring to early summer, as the leaves come out.
- Fruit
- Small, glossy berries about 1/8–3/16 in (3–5 mm) across ripen from late summer into early fall. They are usually red.
Look-alikes
red elderberrySambucus racemosa
Photos usually can't separate the two: both have creamy flower clusters and small red berries. Some botanists even treat North China red elder as part of red elderberry, so a garden label is the surest guide.
Why they get mixed upRed elderberry is a common native shrub in much of North America and looks almost the same.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- mountain slopes
- thickets
- stream banks
- roadsides
- Range
- Native to northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and the Russian Far East. In the US it is found only in cultivation, such as botanical gardens.
- Preferred conditions
- In China it grows on mountain slopes, in thickets, and along streams and roadsides at about 1,800–5,200 ft (540–1,600 m).
Growing it
- Care
- Hardy in USDA zones 3–8. It prefers moist soil in part to full shade and tolerates wind, air pollution, and poor soil, but does poorly in salty coastal air. It can be propagated from stem cuttings and used as a hedge, screen, or windbreak.
- Toxicity
- In Korea its berries are considered toxic and are not eaten the way European elderberries are.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Some botanists think this plant is better treated as part of red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). Korean plants were once named Sambucus williamsii var. coreana, a name now included in this species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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