Sambucus mexicana is a species of deciduous shrub or tree in the family Viburnaceae native to northern Mexico and southwestern USA.
Description
Vegetative characteristics Sambucus mexicana is a 2–8 m tall, rounded, multi-trunked,Theodore Payne Foundation. (n.d.). Sambucus mexicana. Native Plant Database. Retrieved June 27, 2026, from https://theodorepayne.org/nativeplantdatabase/index.php?title=Sambucus_mexicana short lived,Tapio Sambucus mexicana Blue Elderberry. (n.d.). Santa Clara University. Retrieved June 27, 2026, from https://www.scu.edu/community-heritage-lab/ohlone-heritage-hub/ohlone-native-plant-garden/blue-elderberry/ deciduous shrub or treeSan Francisco Landmark Tree: Sambucus mexicana. (2018, September 6). Arborist Now. Retrieved June 27, 2026, from https://arboristnow.com/news/San-Francisco-Landmark-Tree-Sambucus-Mexicana/ with green, pinnate leaves composed of 5–9 oppositely arranged, glabrous to pubescent, elliptic to ovate leaflets with a serrate margin. The gray to dark brown bark is ridged and irregularly furrowed. The soft wood is coarse-grained. Generative characteristics
The flat, 4–33 cm wide inflorescence without a dominant central axis bears white to cream, entomophilous flowers.Fern, K. (n.d.). Sambucus mexicana. Useful Temperate Plants. Retrieved June 27, 2026, from https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sambucus+mexicana The glaucous berries are dark blue or black. Cytology The chromosome count is 2n = 36.Charles D. Bell 2022, Sambucus mexicana, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, Revision 10, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=43127, accessed on June 27, 2026.
Taxonomy It was described in 1830 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle based on previous work by Carl Borivoj Presl.Sambucus mexicana C.Presl ex DC. (n.d.-b). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved June 27, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/227173-2de Candolle, A. P., (1830). Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, sive, Enumeratio contracta ordinum generum specierumque plantarum huc usque cognitarium, juxta methodi naturalis, normas digesta (Vol. 4, p. 322). Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttel et Würtz. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/152468
Habitat Distribution Sambucus mexicana is native to the United States (California, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona) and Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua). Often situated in wetlands adjacent to rivers, scrublands, and woodlands. Due to the adaptability of the plant, it is both dry and moist tolerant and often thrives with a consistent water source.
Uses Sambucus mexicana is used by several indigenous tribes in California, like Acjachemen Indians of San Juan Capistrano, California, and is an important plant for them. For the Acjachemen people, it is known as the “tree of music,” for the construction of wood to develop into clapper sticks, a percussive instrument.
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