Red Elderberry
Sambucus racemosa var. pubens
Found in northern hardwood forests; spruce-fir forests; cliffs, ledges and rocky summits. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
73
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 18 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
At a glance
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April and June
- Fruiting season
- Late June to August
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle
Recorded in 30 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 3
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
35CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
- Campaea perlataPale Beauty, Fringed Looper
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
Show all 35
- Episimus argutanaSumac Leaftier
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Eueretagrotis attentusAttentive Dart
- 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
- Lacanobia grandisGrand Arches
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Orthosia rubescensRuby 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
- Xestia smithiiSmith's Dart
- Paralobesia rhoifructana
- Paralobesia sambuci
3BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Sambucus
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist 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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Viburnaceae
- Flower color
- White
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Late June
- Fruit ends
- August
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late April to early June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Late June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 18 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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