ID Please - elderberries?

[grrlscout]

I was up north, visiting family this past weekend. We went on a walk to the park, and I saw these trees there.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/5192072719_9d13dd6171_b.jpg

I thought they might be elderberries. But every description for them that I read said that the leaf edges should be serrated.

I happened to take some pics of the same tree, this past spring:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4714648431_c9d3faa1f2_b.jpg

Oh and I did find one thing that was easy to ID ;)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/5192695130_7cafd32405_b.jpg

And quite delicious.

[canid]

i'm not at all sure, but those look a lot like some sort of privet. if so; they are known to be toxic.

[grrlscout]

Perhaps. The flowers and berries look similar to what I see described for Japanese Privet.

The only difference I see is that this was a big, tall tree, with a single trunk. Maybe it is a different type of privet. I'll keep looking.

[grrlscout]

I think it might be broadleaf privet (Ligustrum lucidim)

http://www.saveourwaterwaysnow.com.au/01_cms/details_pop.asp?id=358

Thanks for the lead, canid! http://forum.ih8mud.com/images/smilies/cheers.gif

[canid]

at least some of them will only form hedges or bushes if you prune them, otherwise they are tall, straight tree like shrubs.

we get them comming up all over the place around here from bird droppings, and i've mistaken them for blue elder more than once.

[crimescene450]

i was literally just out like an hour ago and saw the same plant. and thought from a distance that it was elderberry

but when i walked in for a closer look i knew it wasnt.
the fruit clusters are different.

[fatwoodfirestarters]

I am pretty sure it is not elderberry it could be a privet.

[JPGreco]

what is that in the last picture?

[gryffynklm]

Not elder berry. I'm sure of that.

It could be related to Coccoloba uvifera x diversifolia- Sea Plum, It is related to the sea grape. The geographic region doesn't quite match but may have been planted as an ornamental plant or seeds could have been carried and deposited by animals. This is just my guess.

http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?uid=coccoloba_uvifera

Here is the sea plum
http://www.plantcreations.com/images/DSCN5095.JPG
http://www.plantcreations.com/coccoloba_diversifolia.htm

[gryffynklm]

JPG that last pic is a pomegranate.

[JPGreco]

That was my first guess, but I've never actually seen a pomegranate in person, thanks.

[danmc]

elderberry (sambucus genus) has compound leaves. The plant in your picture has simple leaves.

elderberry:

- opposite, pinnately compound leaves
- leaflets are toothed
- the cross-section of the petiole (leaf stalk) is sort of crescent shaped (i.e. it has a bit of a hollow to it running along the top).
- bark has noticable lenticils (little bumpy things)

I'll try to remember to get some good pics over the course of this season. A few summers ago my little girl and I picked a whole bunch in a spot where the easiest way to get there was to float down the river on tubes with a backpack full of tupperwear :) I've found a good bit of variation in how they taste. There is one right near my house which produces yucky berries while the ones we picked along the river were pretty good.


I'd agree with the others who say privet on your pics but I've not spent much time studying privet (mostly hacking at it with a machete cursing whoever let it start growing in a spot where it doesn't belong)