Sambucus or Elder belongs to the Adoxaceae family. All the elders have very spongy, moist wood, bearing melliferous flowers and edible fruits. It bears large grey branches, cream-white blossom borne in umbels in June-July, and purple-black fruits in September. Its deciduous foliage can be purple, green or golden depending on the variety. Elder grows in damp to wet ordinary soil, and can be grown as a specimen or in planting schemes in beds and informal hedges.