Herbal Is this an elderberry bush? edit: no, it's a chokecherry bush, maybe

[1911user]

I've been thinking about elderberry syrup and just noticed this bush near our house. Can anyone tell if those are elderberries?

Also, I wasn't sure where to post this. Mods move if needed.

______

 

[bw]

A really good close-up of the leaves would tell us. The left picture appears to be the fruit. Doesn't look like elderberry at all to me.

 

[summerthyme]

No. Wrong berry formation... the berries on the black elder you need are borne in umbrels... umbrella shaped clusters.

Summerthyme

 

[1911user]

Oh well, thanks for the quick info on what NOT to use for syrup.

 

[summerthyme]

Might they be chokecherries?

Summerthyme

 

[hiwall]

The berries do look like chokecherries. Chokecherry jelly, yum!

 

[Dozdoats]

Black elderberry fruit … autumn.

See Sambucus nigra - Wikipedia for more info and photos.

 

[Granana]

We are in East Texas. not too far away from you. Our elderberries form their white cluster blooms in June and the ripened elderberries are usually ready around the 4th of July. Look for the white blooms first to know where the berries will pop up in about a month.

 

[1911user]

Interesting, I'll look to see if there are more chokecherry bushes around here.

I'll order the elderberries to make syrup.

edit: 2 pounds of elderberries should be here next week. Then to the fun of making syrup.

 

[EYW]

Not elders, way too early in the season for the berries.

 

[kjacks]

Black elderberry fruit … autumn.

See Sambucus nigra - Wikipedia for more info and photos.

Looks like pokeweed to me, poisonous!
Chokecherrys (aka wild black cherries) grow on a tree, not a bush!

 

[twohats]

Chokeberries
see the serrated edge of the leaves

 

[cowboy]

No. Wrong berry formation... the berries on the black elder you need are borne in umbrels... umbrella shaped clusters.

Summerthyme

ST when you say umbrella, is that like the flowers, berries, grow from the crown of the plant and then hang as they ripen. Black berries, Grapes seems to grow along the vines in clusters.

 

[Zagdid]

Had an unforgettable experience confusing Moonseed Grapes with edible Grapes. Be careful.

 

[Dozdoats]

Yeah, pokeweed. Sure it is.

THIS IS POKE-

 

[Windy Ridge]

Chokecherries are, at best, small bushy trees that can grow to 30 feet. Usually they are just big bushes. The eastern U.S. has some wild cherry species that can grow to 60 feet. The west coast states have chokecherries and a few other cherry species. One of them is poisonous and looks something like a chokecherry. Fortunately it is so foul tasting no one will taste a second cherry.

I ran across the poisonous one when I was working as a botanist in Oregon. And yes, I did taste one cherry. I barely broke the skin and then spit it out. I continued spitting all of the 500 feet back to the pickup and then repeatedly washed my mouth out with a quart of water. I would have used another quart but I didn't have any more. After about an hour the last of the taste went way.

A chokecherry tastes like sucking a cherry flavored teabag. You can actually grow to like them in small quantities. The syrup and jelly is excellent.

Windy Ridge

 

[Dozdoats]

Speaking of poke - keep an eye out for more research (maybe) on the potential antiviral effects pf poke root.

As with ALL herbs/plants, be sure of your plant ID, parts to use and processes before making medicine with them.