Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Sambucus nigra L.

Synonyms

Sambucus canadensis L. (misapplied)
Sambucus nigra L. subsp. nigra

Family

Adoxaceae (New South Wales)
Caprifoliaceae (Victoria, the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania)
Sambucaceae (Queensland)

Common Names

black elder, blackberry elder, bore tree, common elder, common elderberry, elder, elder berry, elder flower, elderberry, European black elderberry, European elder, European elderberry, pipe tree, sambucus, sweet elder

Origin

Native to north-western Africa (i.e. Algeria and Tunisia), the Azores, the Madeira Islands, Europe and western Asia (i.e. western Iran, northern Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and south-western Russia).

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in eastern Australia (i.e. in south-eastern and northern Queensland, in some parts of eastern New South Wales, in the ACT, in many parts of Victoria, in Tasmania and in south-eastern South Australia).

Also naturalised in Asia, North America (i.e. north-eastern USA and eastern Canada) and New Zealand.

Notes

European elder (Sambucus nigra) is regarded as an environmental weed in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.