Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Something native, not a peony

Here we have the flowers of the native shrub Red Elderberry, Sambucus pubens. It's usually "just part of the furniture" here (i.e. I know it's there but don't really notice it) but yesterday turned out to be the source of a scent that I hadn't recognized. So-- fragrant flowers (although a bit of a rubbery quality to the scent). Later in the summer, big cones of small bright red berries much beloved of the birds.

It has an open form, with weird branch shapes because they are somewhat weak (the centre of the wood is very pithy), grows equally well in sun or open shade, and has leaves somewhat like those of an ash tree. A nice piece of furniture to have around.

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