Adoxaceae - elderberry family
Leaves. The two genera of the Adoxaceae can be distinguished from each other by their leaves. Sambucus leaves are pinnately compound; Viburnum leaves are simple.
Flowers of the Adoxaceae have 5 white petals and are bisexual (with the exception of the enlarged, sterile, marginal flowers of Viburnum lantanoides and Viburnum opulus inflorescences).
Mount Desert Island is home to 7 species in 2 genera that grow without cultivation. If you already know which species you have or are interested in learning about, click on the appropriate link below. Otherwise, examine the tables below for help with identification.
Sambucus (2 species)
Sambucus nigra - black elderberry (occasional [see note 1 at bottom of page])
Sambucus racemosa - red elderberry (common)
Viburnum (5 species)
Viburnum acerifolium - maple-leaved viburnum (occasional)
Viburnum dentatum - smooth arrowwood (rare)
Viburnum lantanoides - hobblebush (occasional)
Viburnum nudum - withe-rod (common)
Viburnum opulus - highbush-cranberry (occasional)
| branch pith color | flowering time | inflorescence shape | fruit color | |
| Sambucus nigra | white | July and August | flat-topped | purple-black |
| S. racemosa | orange-brown | May and June | conical | red |
| leaf blade outline | glands near top of petiole | flowers in inflorescence | twig and leaf pubescence | stipules at base of petiole | |
| Viburnum acerifolium | 3-lobed | absent | all bisexual, of uniform size | stellate | present |
| V. dentatum | unlobed (although distinctly toothed) | absent | all bisexual, of uniform size | simple | absent |
| V. lantanoides | unlobed | absent | marginal flowers neutral, larger than inner, bisexual ones | stellate | absent |
| V. nudum | unlobed | absent | all bisexual, of uniform size | simple | absent |
| V. opulus | 3-lobed | present | marginal flowers neutral, larger than inner, bisexual ones | simple | present |
Sambucus (elderberry)
The Latin name for the elder was sabucus (genitive singular sabuci; second declension but feminine). In his Natural History (16:103), Pliny referred to "sabucus cui medulla plurima" (literally, "elder which with most pith"). Fernald in the 8th edition of Gray's Manual of Botany (1950), suggested that sabucus was "perhaps from the Greek sambuce" (σαμβυκη) because whistle-like musical instruments could be made from "tubes of bark" by removing the pith, but Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon describes σαμβυκη as "a triangular musical instrument with four strings".
Sambucus nigra (black elderberry). [information and image(s) to be added]
Sambucus racemosa (red elderberry). [information to be added]
Viburnum, both the scientific name and the common name of the genus, has a variety of leaf morphologies that enable one to distinguish the six species on Mount Desert Island from each other. The images under each species illustrate the following descriptions. Two of the species (Viburnum acerifolium and V. opulus) have palmately lobed leaves. Both have stipules (thin, paired appendages at the base of the petiole), but only V. opulus has glands on the upper portion of the petiole, the end near the leaf blade. Each of the remaining four species has a distinctive leaf feature. Leaves of Viburnum dentatum are coarsely toothed; those of V. lantanoides are nearly round in outline; and V. nudum leaves have a prominent, light-colored midvein on the adaxial (upper) surface.
Viburnum acerifolium (maple-leaved viburnum) is aptly named. The leaves are palmately lobed, giving them the look of a maple leaf, but they bear stipules (not shown in the image below but see V. opulus for a good view of stipules), which you will not find on maple leaves.
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood) has the most prominently toothed leaves of all the viburnums on MDI.
Viburnum lantanoides (hobblebush) is one of the two viburnums on MDI that have inflorescences with sterile flowers around its margin. (Viburnum opulus is the other species with marginal sterile flowers.)
Its leaves are nearly round in outline.
Viburnum nudum (withe-rod) is sometimes called wild-raisin because it's fruit shrivels with time and resembles a raisin. It is edible, but do not try any of the fruits that turn blue well ahead of the majority. This species is the most common viburnum on MDI. Note below the distinctive light-colored midvein on the leaves.
Viburnum opulus (highbush-cranberry) is not a true cranberry, as the hyphen in its common name indicates, but is so-named because its fruits do resemble cranberries.
As noted above, the leaves of Viburnum opulus have stipules (as do the leaves of V. acerifolium) as well as glands (image below), a feature unique among the viburnums of MDI.
Like Viburnum lantanoides, V. opulus has an inflorescence with enlarged, sterile flowers around the margin.
Note:
1. Frequency designations are from the book The Plants of Acadia National Park (ISBN 978-0-89101-120-0) by Glen H. Mittelhauser, Linda L. Gregory, Sally C. Rooney, and Jill E. Weber, published in 2010 by the University of Maine Press.