No. 48
American elderberry
Sambucus canadensis (S. nigra ssp. canadensis)
Fruit ripe berries (cooked)
Drawing: Britton & Brown, Illustrated Flora (1913)
- Find
- Common in the right habitat
- Effort
- Real work
- ID risk
- Careful
- Origin
- native
- Safety marks
- Deadly lookalike
- Toxic lookalike
- Toxic parts
- Cook first
- Uses
- Baking & desserts
- Jam & jelly
- Syrup & cordial
- Juice & drinks
- Wine & spirits
- Spice & seasoning
- Dried fruit & leather
Season
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
in season peak
What these mean
Find
1 Everywhere · 2 Common in the right habitat · 3 Patchy · 4 Elusive. This is about how much there is, not whether you may pick it. It is based on iNaturalist sightings within 25 km (about 15 miles) of downtown DC, counted on October 3, 2026. The four rules that each plant’s “Find” reason refers to: (A) the estimate is the confirmed sightings, plus the unconfirmed ones (scaled down where the plant has lookalikes in its genus), plus the sightings marked as planted; (B) the tier by estimate: 1,500 or more is tier 1, 250–1,499 tier 2, 50–249 tier 3, under 50 tier 4; (C) tier 1, Everywhere, also needs a source saying the plant is common in lawns, sidewalks, yards or gardens, vacant lots or towns, or at least one DC street tree of it per km of sidewalk, otherwise it is tier 2; (D) if a reliable source says the plant is rare in this region, or that wild plants rarely bear the harvest, only planted sightings count. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.
Effort
1 Grab & eat · 2 Quick kitchen prep (under about 30 minutes) · 3 Real work (hours, or cooking needed for safety) · 4 Project (days or equipment). Scored on the simplest worthwhile use; each plant’s page says why.
ID risk
How hard it is to harvest safely. Beginner: no dangerous lookalike, and the edible part is not easily confused with a toxic part. Careful: a toxic lookalike, or toxic parts that end up in the harvest unless removed (for example elderberry stems, unripe ground cherries), or other parts of the plant rated medium-or-higher toxicity, with reliable features to separate them. Expert only: a potentially deadly lookalike that is hard to separate, or (for not-recommended harvests like pokeweed) a plant whose safe preparation can’t be guaranteed. Toxic parts that are obviously separate and thrown away anyway (pits, seeds, skins) don’t raise it; the Toxic parts mark carries that warning.
Native or not, and the invader stars
Origin is where the plant comes from: native, non-native, or mixed (the harvest covers both). The stars rate plants on invasive plant lists: ★★★ Virginia DCR “High” or Maryland prohibited invasive · ★★ Virginia “Medium” · ★ Virginia “Low” · ☆ listed only by the Maryland Invasive Species Council or the Mid-Atlantic Plant Invaders guide (advisory) · no stars: native or not listed.
Safety marks and flags
Deadly lookalike / Toxic lookalike: a cited source names a lookalike of that danger. Deadly means a source says eating it may be fatal or calls it deadly, or NC State rates it high severity with life-threatening symptoms (sources sometimes disagree; for example Virginia creeper). Each plant’s Lookalikes list says how to tell them apart; “harmless (may be edible)” lookalikes are listed so you know a mix-up isn’t dangerous. Cook first: cooking is needed for safety (for daylilies it is a precaution, not a sourced requirement). Eat in moderation: a source says to limit quantity or frequency (for example oxalates in sorrels and dock, ginkgotoxin, safrole). Spray risk: a source says the plant is commonly treated with herbicide in parks or lawns (invasive control, lawn weeds) or, for ginkgo, sprayed to stop fruiting. Contamination: a source says the plant concentrates pollutants. Each plant’s Safety flags list gives the details and sources.
Seasons
Start, peak and end are given in thirds of a month: early, mid or late. A plant counts as in season for a month if it is in season at any point in that month. Some greens and roots have a second window, in spring or fall; their page shows each window. A season that runs across New Year is shown as one window.
What it looks like
The same shrub as the elderflower: woody, multi-stemmed, with opposite compound leaves. From mid to late summer it carries heavy, drooping, flat-topped clusters of small (about 1/4 in) glossy purple-black berries on reddish stalks.
Safety
MUST BE COOKED. Raw berries, and especially unripe ones, contain cyanogenic glycosides that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and raw juice has caused hospitalizations. Leaves, stems, bark and roots are poisonous. Remove all stems and green berries before crushing or juicing, then heat (cooking deactivates the compounds). Do not use red-fruited elderberry (S. racemosa). LOOKALIKES: pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) has similar purple-black berries in the same habitats but is a non-woody herb with long hanging spikes (racemes) of berries, and all parts are poisonous. Devil’s walking stick (Aralia spinosa) has similar clusters but heavily spined stems. Water hemlock (deadly) has similar white flower heads in spring and is herbaceous. Never pick from non-woody plants. Piedmont MG: people on immunosuppressants should avoid elderberry products.
Lookalikes
Pokeweed Phytolacca americana deadly
Pokeweed has similar purple-black berries in the same habitats but is a non-woody herb with large alternate leaves and berries on long hanging spikes (racemes), not the flat-topped clusters of a woody elder.
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension System
- Phytolacca americana (Pokeweed) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Wild Edibles of Missouri (Jan Phillips) Missouri Department of Conservation
Water hemlock Cicuta maculata deadly
Water hemlock has similar white umbrella-shaped flower heads and toothed compound leaves in the same wet places, but it is a soft-stemmed herb; elderberry is a woody shrub with barked stems, so never pick from a plant without woody stems.
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension System
- Cicuta maculata (Water Hemlock) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Devil’s walking stick Aralia spinosa toxic
Devil’s walking stick has large flower heads and purple berries like elderberry, but its stems, branches and leafstalks carry prominent sharp spines; elderberry stems are smooth. NC State rates it low severity: unripe berries are poisonous, and ripe ones are not poisonous but still not edible.
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension System
- Aralia spinosa (Devil’s Walking Stick) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Red elderberry Sambucus racemosa toxic
Red elderberry’s fruits are bright red rather than purple-black; Oregon State says it may have higher toxin levels, especially in the seeds, and should not be used for food products.
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension System
- Play it safe when preserving elderberries (EM 9446) Oregon State University Extension
- Elderberry (Piedmont Master Gardeners) Piedmont Master Gardeners / Virginia Cooperative Extension
Safety flags
Cook first
Raw and especially unripe berries contain cyanogenic glycosides; NC State says cooking helps inactivate them and raw juice has caused hospitalizations (Oregon State).
- Play it safe when preserving elderberries (EM 9446) Oregon State University Extension
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension System
- Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Elderberry (Piedmont Master Gardeners) Piedmont Master Gardeners / Virginia Cooperative Extension
Eat in moderation
cyanogenic glycosides: Always cook; Piedmont Master Gardeners warns of diarrhea and vomiting from overconsumption of elderberry products, and people on immunosuppressants should avoid them.
- Elderberry (Piedmont Master Gardeners) Piedmont Master Gardeners / Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Play it safe when preserving elderberries (EM 9446) Oregon State University Extension
- Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Handling hazard (minor)
thorns/prickles: Lookalike risk: devil’s walking stick, which grows in the same places, has prominent sharp spines on stems and branches (Alabama Extension). The elder itself has no named handling hazard.
- Play it safe when preserving elderberries (EM 9446) Oregon State University Extension
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension System
- Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Elderberry (Piedmont Master Gardeners) Piedmont Master Gardeners / Virginia Cooperative Extension
Toxic parts
Leaves, stems, bark and roots are poisonous; unripe fruit is much more toxic than ripe (NC State).
- Play it safe when preserving elderberries (EM 9446) Oregon State University Extension
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension System
- Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Elderberry (Piedmont Master Gardeners) Piedmont Master Gardeners / Virginia Cooperative Extension
Safety marks and flags: what this means
Deadly lookalike / Toxic lookalike: a cited source names a lookalike of that danger. Deadly means a source says eating it may be fatal or calls it deadly, or NC State rates it high severity with life-threatening symptoms (sources sometimes disagree; for example Virginia creeper). Each plant’s Lookalikes list says how to tell them apart; “harmless (may be edible)” lookalikes are listed so you know a mix-up isn’t dangerous. Cook first: cooking is needed for safety (for daylilies it is a precaution, not a sourced requirement). Eat in moderation: a source says to limit quantity or frequency (for example oxalates in sorrels and dock, ginkgotoxin, safrole). Spray risk: a source says the plant is commonly treated with herbicide in parks or lawns (invasive control, lawn weeds) or, for ginkgo, sprayed to stop fruiting. Contamination: a source says the plant concentrates pollutants. Each plant’s Safety flags list gives the details and sources.
- ID risk
- Careful
- Why
- Lookalikes: pokeweed (purple-black berries, but a non-woody herb with long hanging spikes, all parts poisonous), devil’s walking stick (sharp spines on stems) and water hemlock at flowering. Pick only from woody shrubs with flat clusters.
- Handling hazards
- Thorns (minor)
- Soil risk
- low
ID risk: what this means
How hard it is to harvest safely. Beginner: no dangerous lookalike, and the edible part is not easily confused with a toxic part. Careful: a toxic lookalike, or toxic parts that end up in the harvest unless removed (for example elderberry stems, unripe ground cherries), or other parts of the plant rated medium-or-higher toxicity, with reliable features to separate them. Expert only: a potentially deadly lookalike that is hard to separate, or (for not-recommended harvests like pokeweed) a plant whose safe preparation can’t be guaranteed. Toxic parts that are obviously separate and thrown away anyway (pits, seeds, skins) don’t raise it; the Toxic parts mark carries that warning.
Handling hazards: what this means
Stings, thorns, irritating or phototoxic sap, staining hulls and spiny husks, with a severity: minor = brief discomfort; moderate = rash or blisters lasting days; serious = burns, scarring or medical care possible.
Soil risk: what this means
Based on the part you eat, following the urban-soil lead guidance on the Field safety page: higher for greens, shoots and roots; moderate for flowers; low for fruit, nuts and sap.
Field safety for every outing (poison ivy, ticks, soil, and more)
When to pick
- Starts
- early Jul
- Peak
- late Jul–late Aug
- Ends
- mid Sep
Fairfax County SWCD and NC State give August and September for the fruit, but around DC iNaturalist photos show the first ripe purple-black berries in early July, ripe clusters common from mid-July, and the most ripe fruit from late July through late August. University of Missouri Extension also describes the berries as ripe in mid- to late summer. Not all berries ripen at once, so you may need to pick more than once (Oregon State). Use only deep purple-black berries and pick out green or red ones. Elderberries spoil quickly: harvest in the cool of the day and process them promptly (Oregon State). Always cook them.
How the dates were worked out
Every start, peak and end was re-checked in October 2026. “Sourced” means a source opened during the check states that timing for the DC or Mid-Atlantic area. “Estimated” means no source states it exactly; the reason, the evidence and the source links are under “How the dates were worked out” on each plant’s page. Peaks are often estimated, because few sources name a peak. iNaturalist evidence means research-grade sightings near DC, by month, of the plant at that stage (for example, in fruit). iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.
Season basis: estimated: start, peak
Start
estimated: The regional sources give August-September by month only. Local photos show the first ripe fruit in early July, with ripe clusters common from mid July, so the start is early Jul; not every shrub is ripe that early.
Peak
estimated: No source names a DC peak. The range follows local photos of ripe fruit; the fruiting counts also include green clusters, so they run a little ahead of the ripe-fruit peak.
End
sourced
Evidence
start: Fairfax County SWCD: 'Dark purple berrylike fruit August - September'. NC State: fruit 'on display from August to September'. University of Missouri Extension: 'bright purple to black berries in mid- to late-summer'. DC-area iNaturalist photos (research-grade fruiting records within 40 km, July-September, 123 records) show fully ripe purple-black berries on Jul 7 (Alexandria, 2019; Herndon, 2023) and ripe clusters on Jul 10, 14 and 15, then many from Jul 16 on (Huntley Meadows, Alexandria, Reston). DC fruiting records by third of the month (days 1-10, 11-20, 21-end): July 15/13/25, August 6/8/5. | peak: DC-area iNaturalist photos show many ripe clusters from late July through late August (for example Jul 25, Aug 1 and Aug 2, and loaded ripe clusters on Aug 21, 22, 26, 27 and 28); a few stripped or empty clusters appear in mid August and early September. DC fruiting records are highest in July (53 of 90) and fall to 19 in August and 2 in early September. Piedmont Master Gardeners (Charlottesville area) put 'flowering and fruiting' in late August to early September, but that sentence lumps flowering with fruiting and refers to cultivars. | end: Fairfax SWCD and NC State: August-September. The last DC iNaturalist fruiting records are in early September (2).
- Native Plants from 2026 Seedling Sale Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (Fairfax County)
- Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Growing and Marketing Elderberries in Missouri (AF1017) University of Missouri Extension
- American elderberry research-grade observations within 25 km of DC, with photos (fruiting annotation) iNaturalist
- American elderberry research-grade observations within 25 km of DC, by week (fruiting annotation) iNaturalist
- api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations/histogram
- Elderberry (Piedmont Master Gardeners) Piedmont Master Gardeners / Virginia Cooperative Extension
Where to look
Stream banks, marsh edges and field edges; legal on the C&O Canal towpath (½ gal/day) and in Virginia state parks, while the big stands at Huntley Meadows and along Four Mile Run are look-only.
- Habitats
- disturbed ground & waste places, old fields & meadows, woods edges, trailsides & thickets, floodplain & stream-valley forest, wetlands, marshes & pond edges
Habitats: what this means
Listed where the plant’s own sources place it in that habitat. “Disturbed ground & waste places” means a cited source places it on disturbed areas, sites, soil or ground, on waste places or waste ground, on construction or abandoned building sites (old home sites count), on rubble or in strip mines. When the source gives examples of the disturbed places, at least one example must be of that kind. Examples that do not count: natural or forestry disturbance (treefall gaps, fire, windthrow, flood scour, old riverbanks and creeks, clear-cuts); roadsides, railroads and rights-of-way; and abandoned fields, pastures and farmland, which are “Old fields & meadows”. “Vacant lots” only where a source says vacant or empty lots.
Most-logged places
You may pick here
- C&O Canal NHP (towpath, Georgetown to Great Falls MD and beyond)
Legal to pick under the C&O Canal compendium (by hand, personal use, daily limit; trail-side only at Great Falls MD).
Ask first: rules unclear or not checked
- Kingman & Heritage Islands
No DC rule found that allows or bans picking; treat as not authorized and never damage plants (DC Code 22-3310).
No picking here (3 places)
- Huntley Meadows Park
Look but don’t pick: Fairfax County parks ban removing any plant part without written permission.
- Rock Creek Park
Look but don’t pick: Rock Creek Park’s compendium bans gathering any fruit, nut, berry, seed or greenery.
- Four Mile Run stream valley (Arlington/Alexandria)
Look but don’t pick: Arlington County park rules (flora shall not be removed or disturbed) and Alexandria’s permit rule both apply.
Most-logged places: what this means
The places with the most research-grade iNaturalist sightings within 25 km of downtown DC (re-counted in October 2026 over every named place, campuses, condominiums and private grounds included), each marked legal to pick or not. A sighting inside several named places counts once, for the smallest of them, but a sighting inside a National Park Service park never counts for a private, campus or unchecked place. iNaturalist shows where people walk and log plants, not true abundance. Private campuses, condominiums, museums, estates and utility land (Pepco’s power-line land near Sligo Creek) are marked “no” (pick only with the owner’s permission); public university campuses, city parks and other places whose picking rules were not checked (county stormwater land, the U.S. Capitol Grounds, Greenbelt’s North Woods, federal facilities such as the National Zoo) are “unknown”. A place needs at least 2 sightings, so plants with very few sightings (rugosa rose) have no places. No most-logged places are named for at-risk plants (ramps, chinquapin, American chestnut); chinquapin’s page names Mason Neck State Park, where picking is legal, and asks you to leave most nuts. For some places, mostly Rock Creek Park, the iNaturalist map shows more sightings than the count here, because a map link cannot leave out exactly the sightings credited to another place. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.
Where you may pick
C&O Canal NHP (2026 compendium) allows hand-gathering elderberries for personal use, 1/2 gallon per person per day, without damaging the plant. Rock Creek Park’s 2026 compendium bans gathering any fruits, berries or seeds for personal use.
- Best legal spot
- C&O Canal NHP (105 obs)
- C&O Canal NHP (incl. Great Falls MD, trail-side only)
C&O Canal compendium (eff. Sept. 11, 2026) 2.1(c)(1), daily per-person limits: elderberries: 1/2 gallon
- Prince William Forest Park
PRWI compendium (May 29, 2026) 36 CFR 2.1 'Plant Collection': 'elderberries (Sambucus pubens)'. S. pubens is red elderberry, which the Virginia plant atlas does not record in Prince William County; black elderberry (S. canadensis) is not named. Probably a clerical slip, but confirm with the park
- Virginia State Parks
4VAC5-30-50 bars gathering any plant without a permit, except that edible fruits, berries, fungi or nuts may be collected for personal or individual use; elderberries are edible when cooked
Where you may pick: what this means
For each park system: “yes” where its current rules (the park’s compendium or regulation) allow this plant or part, with the limit; “ambiguous” where the wording may or may not cover it, so ask the park; “no” where it is not allowed. Rock Creek Park, the GW Parkway sites (including Great Falls VA and Theodore Roosevelt Island), the National Mall, Montgomery and Prince George’s parks, Maryland state parks, and Fairfax and Arlington parks prohibit picking. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts allows blackberries and raspberries (one gallon per person per day) and chestnuts (one gallon per person per day). National Park Service rules are reissued every year; other parks change theirs from time to time, so check the park’s current rules. The Where you may pick page has every park’s rules.
Ways to use it
- syrup
- jelly/jam
- pie
- wine
- cordial
- juice (heated)
- fruit leather from cooked pulp (OSU)
- dried berries, rehydrated and cooked before eating, or simmered in vinegar for a flavored vinegar (OSU)
Keeping
De-stem and freeze or cook them the day you pick them; American elderberries are low-acid, so never can them with ordinary berry recipes (only OSU’s high-sugar jam and jelly is safe to water-bath).
- Use within
- pick & use same day
- Keeps fresh
- Elderberries spoil quickly. Pick in the cool part of the day and process as soon as possible; refrigerate at 35-40°F only for the short term, or freeze if you cannot process right away. Freezing the clusters first makes de-stemming easier (OSU). Always cook before eating.
- Canning
- lab-tested: high-sugar jam, jelly or syrup (ratio recipe only) (Oregon State). ordinary elderberry syrup: refrigerate or freeze, never can
- Keeping basis
- specific to this plant
Ways to keep it
Dry as researched: dry/dehydrate; canning: n/a (not shelf-canned)
Dry at 135°F for 6-8 hours until crisp; store airtight in a cool, dark place or freeze. Rehydrate and cook dried berries before eating (OSU). Cooked pulp also makes leather (OSU).
Freeze as researched: freeze; canning: n/a (not shelf-canned)
Freeze raw de-stemmed berries, juice or syrup; cook before eating (OSU; Penn State).
Infuse as researched: infuse/vinegar; canning: n/a (not shelf-canned)
Dried elderberries can flavor vinegars; Oregon State’s recipe (written for blue elderberries) brings the mix to a boil and simmers it at least 10 minutes.
Jam/jelly as researched: jam/jelly; canning: lab-tested: high-sugar jam, jelly or syrup (ratio recipe only) (Oregon State)
American elderberries can be low-acid (pH above 4.6), so do NOT use standard berry canning recipes. The only safe water-bath option is OSU’s high-sugar recipe: 16 oz pulp or juice to at least 19.5 oz granulated sugar by weight, no low-sugar pectin, processed 5 minutes below 1,000 ft.
Syrup as researched: syrup/cordial; canning: no tested recipe — refrigerate or freeze
Ordinary American elderberry syrup must be refrigerated or frozen, never canned. Only OSU’s high-sugar ratio recipe (see jam/jelly) may be canned (OSU).
Canning: what this means
Shelf-stable canning, three levels. Lab-tested: a lab-tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) or Oregon State covers this fruit and product, or a generic recipe for its kind (the line says so, for example chokeberry). Extension recipe: a published Extension recipe (University of Alaska Fairbanks, written for Alaska species; University of Maine’s dandelion jelly), or a process that is safe only with a pH meter; follow it exactly, never improvise. No tested recipe: refrigerate or freeze, don’t can. “Hot-bottled syrup” = maple and walnut syrup, which keep when bottled hot at full syrup density. The Canning line names the exact product each source covers, for example “whole berries” or “juice”; a product not named there (such as juice from a berry with only a whole-berry recipe) has no tested recipe.
Keeping basis: what this means
“Specific to this plant” or “general guidance for its type” (for example NCHFP guidance for leafy greens applied to a wild green).
Nutrition
Not researched: in October 2026, only the calendar’s plants of the month and chicory leaves were researched.
Native or not
American elderberry (S. nigra ssp. canadensis) is native. European elder (S. nigra ssp. nigra) is a separate, non-native taxon sometimes planted; not on any of the lists checked.
- Origin
- native
- Native range
- eastern North America
- Virginia invasive rank
- not listed
- Maryland invasive status
- not listed
Native or not, and the invader stars: what this means
Origin is where the plant comes from: native, non-native, or mixed (the harvest covers both). The stars rate plants on invasive plant lists: ★★★ Virginia DCR “High” or Maryland prohibited invasive · ★★ Virginia “Medium” · ★ Virginia “Low” · ☆ listed only by the Maryland Invasive Species Council or the Mid-Atlantic Plant Invaders guide (advisory) · no stars: native or not listed.
Virginia DCR, Virginia Invasive Plant Species List (effective September 2024), verbatim: "Under the DCR Invasive Species Assessment Protocol, approved by the Virginia Invasive Species Working Group, January 2024, species were ranked as exhibiting high, medium or low levels of invasiveness based on their threat to natural communities and native species. Invasiveness rank is higher for species that: • Alter ecosystem processes, such as succession, hydrology or fire regime. • Are capable of invading undisturbed natural communities. • Cause substantial impacts on rare or vulnerable species or natural communities or high-quality examples of more common communities. • Are found widely distributed and generally abundant where present. • Disperse readily to new areas. • Are difficult to control." The list also states: "The list is for educational purposes only and has no regulatory authority."
Maryland Department of Agriculture, Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant Law and Regulations page, verbatim: "Plants on the Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant List may not be added to stock after the effective date and should not be sold after their phase-out period ends."
No official DC invasive plant list was found.
How the ratings were set
- Find
- Common in the right habitat Estimate 1,466 = 1,067 research-grade iNaturalist sightings within 25 km + 314 needs-ID sightings counted in full (American elderberry is the only Sambucus with research-grade sightings here) + 85 'cultivated' (planted) sightings (rule A); that is tier 2 by count (rule B). Final tier 2.
- Effort
- Real work Strip ripe berries from the stems, discard all stems and green berries, then cook into syrup or jelly.
Find: what this means
1 Everywhere · 2 Common in the right habitat · 3 Patchy · 4 Elusive. This is about how much there is, not whether you may pick it. It is based on iNaturalist sightings within 25 km (about 15 miles) of downtown DC, counted on October 3, 2026. The four rules that each plant’s “Find” reason refers to: (A) the estimate is the confirmed sightings, plus the unconfirmed ones (scaled down where the plant has lookalikes in its genus), plus the sightings marked as planted; (B) the tier by estimate: 1,500 or more is tier 1, 250–1,499 tier 2, 50–249 tier 3, under 50 tier 4; (C) tier 1, Everywhere, also needs a source saying the plant is common in lawns, sidewalks, yards or gardens, vacant lots or towns, or at least one DC street tree of it per km of sidewalk, otherwise it is tier 2; (D) if a reliable source says the plant is rare in this region, or that wild plants rarely bear the harvest, only planted sightings count. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.
Effort: what this means
1 Grab & eat · 2 Quick kitchen prep (under about 30 minutes) · 3 Real work (hours, or cooking needed for safety) · 4 Project (days or equipment). Scored on the simplest worthwhile use; each plant’s page says why.
Sources
25 sources, each linked to the original.
- C&O Canal NHP Superintendent’s Compendium, effective September 11, 2026 National Park Service, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHPBacks up: picking rules
- Rock Creek Park Superintendent’s Compendium (2026) National Park Service, Rock Creek ParkBacks up: picking rules
- Sambucus canadensis (woody plants database) University of IllinoisBacks up: description, uses
- Common Elderberry (field guide) Missouri Department of ConservationBacks up: description, uses, habitat
- iNaturalist research-grade observations of Sambucus canadensis within 25 km of downtown DC iNaturalistBacks up: findability
- Elderberry in the Garden and the Kitchen Penn State ExtensionBacks up: keeping
- USDA PLANTS Database: Sambucus canadensis / S. nigra ssp. canadensis (SACA12), native status USDA NRCSBacks up: native or invasive status
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Sambucus nigra (Country or Region of Origin) North Carolina State University ExtensionBacks up: native or invasive status
- Virginia Invasive Plant Species List (effective date: September 2024) Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural HeritageBacks up: native or invasive status
- Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant Law and Regulations (Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant List, updated January 2026; additions effective July 15, 2026; 'Next Plants To Be Assessed' 2026-2027) Maryland Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection & Weed ManagementBacks up: native or invasive status
- Non-Native Invasive Terrestrial Plant Species in the State of Maryland (updates approved through the April 18, 2024 MISC meeting) Maryland Invasive Species CouncilBacks up: native or invasive status
- Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide (Swearingen & Fulton, 2022; successor to the NPS/USFWS 5th ed., 2017) Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council / Passiflora Press (hosted by Bugwood/Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool)Backs up: native or invasive status
- Invasive Plants in the District DC Department of Energy & EnvironmentBacks up: native or invasive status
- Phytolacca americana (Pokeweed) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety details
- Wild Edibles of Missouri (Jan Phillips) Missouri Department of ConservationBacks up: safety details
- Aralia spinosa (Devil’s Walking Stick) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety details
- Cicuta maculata (Water Hemlock) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety details
- American Elderberry Commercial Production Guide Alabama Cooperative Extension SystemBacks up: safety, habitat
- American elderberry research-grade observations within 25 km of DC, with photos (fruiting annotation) iNaturalistBacks up: season
- American elderberry research-grade observations within 25 km of DC, by week (fruiting annotation) iNaturalistBacks up: season
- Sambucus canadensis (American Elderberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: season, description, uses, habitat, safety
- Native Plants from 2026 Seedling Sale Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (Fairfax County)Backs up: season, uses
- Growing and Marketing Elderberries in Missouri (AF1017) University of Missouri ExtensionBacks up: season, uses, description
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