Sambucus mexicana Presl ex A.DC., Adoxaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Sambucus cerulea Raf.; Sambucus glauca Nutt.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: blue elder, blue elderberry, blueberry elder, common elderberry, Mexican elder, Mexican elderberry

Samoan: suni pa‘epa‘e, suni pa‘epa‘e

Spanish: tilo

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Arborescent, at last reaching 10 m high; leaves with 2 to 4 pairs of leaflets plus the terminal leaflet, these narrowly elliptic or elliptic-ovate, serrate, acute-acuminate, up to about 9-10 cm long, the lowest leaflets sometimes themselves compound (often only on the proximal side); petiolules to 1 cm long; corymbs dense, sometimes 24 cm wide; flowers creamy-white; berry purplish-black, 5 mm thick, subglobose, usually 4-seeded"  (Stone, 1970; pp. 567-568).

"The distinctive feature of Hawaiian plants is that the lowermost pair of leaflets is fairly often replaced by 3 sessile leaflets—two smaller side leaflets and a larger middle one.  It is unclear whether plants on the mainland called S. mexicana represent the same species that grows [in Hawai‘i], because the descriptions in regional floras do not match Hawaiian plants called S. mexicana.  Clearly, a thorough revision of Sambucus in the Americas is needed to sort this situation out"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 222).

"Arbuste à petit arbre de 3 à 10 m de hauteur, reconnaissable à ses feuilles composées de 5 à 7 folioles, à marge dentée, et ses grandes inflorescences (corymbes) atteignant 20 cm de diamètre composées de petites fleurs blanches, et ses fruits, des baies de couleur pourprenoire à maturité"  (Meyer, 2008; p. 38).

Habitat/ecology:  "Elderberry thrives in moist, fertile soils in full sun or partial shade.  Naturalized populations often grow along streams or other wet areas at higher elevations where cooler temperatures prevail.  New shoots emerge from around the base of the plant, and a sizable thicket may form in time"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 222).  In Hawai‘i, "sparingly naturalized or escaping in cool, mesic to wet areas" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 495).  Common on Tutuila, American Samoa, in disturbed areas (Space & Flynn, 2000).

Propagation:  Seed, fruits probably eaten by birds.

Native range:  "Texas and California through Mexico and widely planted throughout tropical America"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 222).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 6)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 6)
Chile (offshore islands) Rapa Nui (Easter) Island	Rapa Nui (Easter) Island (Isla de Pasqua)	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2008) (p. 38) cf. mexicana. "Nous l’avons observée plantée en bordure de route et dans les jardins de Hanga Roa" (Meyer, 2008; p. 38).
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 557)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Agrigan (Agrihan) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 280)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Agrigan (Agrihan) Island	introduced cultivated	Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. (1975) (p. 41) Voucher cited: Fosberg 31435 (US)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Pagan Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 66)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Aitutaki Atoll	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 76)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 82)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 88)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 94)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Miti‘aro Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 99)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 70)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 77)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2004) (voucher ID: PTBG 43759) Taxon name on voucher: Sambucus mexicana
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 280)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2004) (voucher ID: PTBG 42233) Taxon name on voucher: Sambucus mexicana C. Presl ex DC.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Pou (Huapu, Uapou, Uapu) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 60) Voucher cited: BRY 26100a
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 60) Voucher cited: Florence 2442
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: Florence 2442 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 493029) Taxon name on voucher: Sambucus mexicana Presl ex A.DC.
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rapa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rimatara (Rimitara) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 567-568) Vouchers cited: Stone 5065 (GUAM), Stone 5161 (GUAM)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 280)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1946) (voucher ID: BISH 135649) Taxon name on voucher: Sambucus mexicana Presl ex A.DC.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 495-496) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 495-496) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 495-496) East Maui Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. (2002) (p. 5) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer et al. H40006 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 495-496) Voucher cited: Cooper s.n. (BISH) Sparingly naturalized.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 81) Rare, possibly extirpated.
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 25)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 46)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 280)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 71)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 68)
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Lifuka and Foa Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 74)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 62)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 56)
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 68)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 321)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Fairly common on Tutuila, American Samoa, both as an ornamental and naturalized (Space & Flynn, 2000). Mostly seen as an ornamental on Niue (Space & Flynn, 2000). Common on the various islands of Tonga (Space & Flynn, 2001) and in Samoa (Space & Flynn, 2002), both cultivated and naturalized.

Additional information:
Additional online information about Sambucus mexicana is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Sambucus mexicana as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Sambucus mexicana may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1946. Voucher specimen #BISH 135649 (Fosberg, F.R. 25369).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 493029 (Florence, J. 2442).

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. 1975. Vascular flora of the northern Marianas Islands. Smithsonian Contrib. Bot. 22:1-45.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2008. Rapport de mission d'expertise a Rapa Nui du 02 au 11 Juin 2008: Plan d'action strategique pour lutter contre les plantes introduites envahissantes sur Rapa Nui (Île de pâques) [Strategic action plan to control invasive alien plants on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 62 pp. .

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. 2002. New plant records from the main Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:1-14.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Observations on invasive plant species in American Samoa.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 51 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Report to the Government of Niue on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 34 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of the Cook Islands on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 146 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of Samoa on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 83 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate. 2004. Report to the Government of Niue and the United Nations Development Programme: Invasive plant species on Niue following Cyclone Heta. UNDP NIU/98/G31 - Niue Enabling Activity. 80 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Plants in Samoan culture: The ethnobotany of Samoa. Isle Botanica. 234 pp. ISB: 0-9645426-6-8.