| Sambucus sieboldiana | |
|---|---|
| |
| Shrub in flower | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Dipsacales |
| Family: | Adoxaceae |
| Genus: | Sambucus |
| Species: | S. sieboldiana
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sambucus sieboldiana (Miquel) Blume ex Schwerin
| |
Sambucus sieboldiana, commonly called the Japanese red elder, is a deciduous shrub in the moschatel family (Adoxaceae). It is native to East Asia, where it is found in Japan and Korea.[1] Its natural habitat is in thickets and forest edges, in low elevations.[2] It is a common species throughout its range.
It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to a height of 4 metres (13 ft) tall. Its leaves are opposite and pinnately compound, with 5-7 toothed leaflets. It produces a panicle of small white flowers in late spring, which are insect pollinated and hermaphroditic.[3] Its fruits are ~4 mm long, red, and round.[2] They are dispersed by birds.[4]
The Latin specific epithet sieboldiana refers to German physician and botanist Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866).[5]
A closely related plant in China, Sambucus williamsii, was once included in Sambucus sieboldiana but is now classified as a separate species.[1]
Members of this genus are poisonous and the fruit has been known to cause stomach upsets in some people, but no records of this have been found for S. sieboldiana; any toxins that may be in the fruit would be destroyed upon cooking and would have a low toxicity.