Danewort
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
European Dwarf Elder | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Danewort inflorescence
|
||||||||||||||
Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
Sambucus ebulus L. |
Danewort (Sambucus ebulus), also known as Dwarf Elder or European Dwarf Elder and Walewort is a herbaceous species of elder, native to southern and central Europe and southwest Asia. It grows to 1-2 m tall, with erect, usually unbranched stems growing in large groups from an extensive perennial underground rhizome. The leaves are opposite, pinnate, 15-30 cm long, with 5-9 leaflets with a foetid smell. The stems terminate in a corymb 10-15 cm diameter with numerous white (occasionally pink) flowers. The fruit is a small glossy black berry 5-6 mm diameter.
The name Danewort comes from the belief that it only grows on the sites of battles that involved the Danes.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: