European Elder
Sambucus nigra
—
Not native
Not native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 29%
- Light
- 4 or more hours of direct sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 1 Mississippi county.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
28CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Sambucus
- Achatodes zeaeElder Shoot Border Moth, Spindele Worm, Cornstalk Borer
- Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
- Anania tertialisCrowned Anania, Crowned Phlyctaenia
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Callima argenticinctellaOrange-Headed Epicallima
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Episimus argutanaSumac Leaftier
Show all 28
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
- Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Iridopsis larvariaBent-Line Gray
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Paralobesia viteanaAmerican Vine Moth, Grape Berry Moth
- Proteoteras moffatianaMaple Bud Borer, Maple Shoot Borer
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Tetracis crocallataYellow Slant-Line
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Paralobesia rhoifructana
- Paralobesia sambuci
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
49BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sambucus
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Aphelocoma californicaCalifornia Scrub-Jay
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak
Show all 49
- Contopus virensEastern Wood-Pewee
- Cyanocitta stelleriSteller's Jay
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Dryobates pubescensDowny Woodpecker
- Dryobates villosusHairy Woodpecker
- Empidonax alnorum/trailliiAlder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher)
- Empidonax difficilisPacific-slope Flycatcher
- Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
- Icterus bullockiiBullock's Oriole
- Melanerpes formicivorusAcorn Woodpecker
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Myadestes townsendiTownsend's Solitaire
- Myiarchus cinerascensAsh-throated Flycatcher
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
- Passerina cyaneaIndigo Bunting
- Patagioenas fasciataBand-tailed Pigeon
- Pheucticus ludovicianusRose-breasted Grosbeak
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Piranga ludovicianaWestern Tanager
- Sayornis nigricansBlack Phoebe
- Sayornis sayaSay's Phoebe
- Sialia currucoidesMountain Bluebird
- Sialia mexicanaWestern Bluebird
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Sphyrapicus variusYellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Toxostoma redivivumCalifornia Thrasher
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
- Tyrannus verticalisWestern Kingbird
- Vireo belliiBell's Vireo
- Vireo gilvusWarbling Vireo
- Vireo griseusWhite-eyed Vireo
- Vireo huttoniHutton's Vireo
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
- Vireo solitariusBlue-headed Vireo
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- VIBURNACEAE
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Mississippi occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications