Sambucus sieboldiana
Sambucus sieboldiana | |
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Shrub in flower | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Dipsacales |
Family: | Adoxaceae |
Genus: | Sambucus |
Species: | S. sieboldiana
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Binomial name | |
Sambucus sieboldiana (Miquel) Blume ex Schwerin
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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.
Description
[edit]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]
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Mature red fruits
Taxonomy
[edit]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]
Toxins
[edit]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.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Sambucus racemosa ssp. sieboldiana (in Japanese), Flora of Mikawa
- ^ a b Ohwi, Jisaburo (1965). Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution. p. 771.
- ^ "Sambucus sieboldiana PFAF Plant Database". www.pfaf.org. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
- ^ Sambucus racemosa ssp. sieboldiana (in Japanese), Okayama University Plant Ecology Laboratory
- ^ D. Gledhill The A to Z of Plant Names: A Quick Reference Guide to 4000 Garden Plants, p. 107, at Google Books