Hul'q'umi'num' name:
tth’iwuq’ – red elderberry fruit
English Name:
Red Elderberry
Alternative English Names:
Coastal Red Elder
Scientific Name:
Sambucus racemosa
Click/tap on the button to jump to that section:
Description
Description, Habitat, Ecology, Distribution
Red elderberry is a large shrub to small tree (to 6 m [ca. 20 ft] tall) that produces creamy white flowers and large clusters of small red berries. It occurs along streambanks, swampy thickets, moist clearings, and open forests from sea level to middle elevations throughout the coast.
Island Cultural Role
The fruits are edible, but are cooked before eating.
Cautions
CAUTION: This species may be harmful. It produces toxic substances (a poisonous alkaloid and cyanogenic glycoside) in all plant parts. The concentrations are much lower in the flowers and unripe fruits, however, and the ripe fruits are regarded as edible.
Language
Hul'q'umi'num' Name
tth’iwuq’ – red elderberry fruit
APA
t̓ᶿiwəq̓
Speaker
Ruby Peter
Hul'q'umi'num' Name 2
tth’iwuq’ulhp – red elderberry shrub
APA
t̓ᶿiwəq̓əłp
Speaker
Ruby Peter