Pomes & Berries Gallery:
Summer portraits of
Sambucus nigra 'Purpurea'
foliage has faded to nearly green, & the white
flowers have turned to huge flat-top clusters of berries,
starting out green on dark red stems.
As July progresses, the green elderberries
first turn purple then rapidly darken to shiny black.
Black fruit in August though fully ripened may still have
a bitter taste, hence the birds will leave them be until
autumn's first frost which improves their flavor raw.
This leaves plenty of time for human hands to harvest them,
frosting them off in the freezer or just cooking, sieving,
& sweetening them for jellies.
For more about Purple-leafed Black Elderberry, see the primary
Sambucus nigra 'Purpurea' page
& for more portraits & information, see
Myths & Legends of the Black Elderberry
& for another cultivar, see
Sambucus nigra "Black Beauty 'Gerda'"
not the mention
Sambucus racemosa pubens, Pacific Red Elderberry
or the fancy
Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Golden' cutleaf elderberry
Continue to the Next Page of the Berries Gallery.