Plate 078 · branch with flowers and berries IdentificationFive marks on the plate
- 1Opposite, compound leaves, with several pairs of leaflets.
- 2Finely toothed leaflet with a long tip.
- 3Flat-topped cluster of small white flowers.
- 4Dark purple berries on reddish stalks.
- 5Rough bark with lenticels.
Easily confused with CochuchoZanthoxylum cocoAlso called saúco in places. It has alternate leaves, prickles and a citrus smell. 078 / 100 · PLANTS · VIBURNACEAELEAST CONCERN Andean elder
Sambucus peruviana
Saúco · Peruvian elderberry
It is always present in alder and pino del cerro woods, but never common. Its flat clusters of white flowers turn into bunches of dark purple berries. Mountain herders grow it near their posts to make jam from the fruit.
- Height
- 4 – 10 m
- Leaf
- opposite, compound, toothed
- Fruit
- purple berry, edible
- Foliage
- deciduous
- Alder woodland
- Edible fruit
- Deciduous
- Medicinal
Altitude rangeFrom cloud forest to alder woods
Montane forest and woodland It grows in the montane forest and cloud woodland of Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy. It is typical of alder and pino del cerro woods.
EcologyFlowers, berries and epiphytes
- Fruit-eating birdseat the berries
- Insectsvisit the flowers
- Alder and pino del cerrothe woods it lives in
- Epiphytescover its rough bark
The ripe fruit is used for jams and preserves. In folk medicine it is used as an expectorant.
Life cycleFrom white cluster to berry
- Flat clusters. The flowers are small and white, in large clusters at the branch tips.
- Purple berries. The fruit is a round berry, dark purple when ripe.
- Sheds its leaves. It is deciduous and stands bare for part of the year.
Where to look in Tucumán- Tafí del Valle (RP 307)
- Cuesta del Clavillo
- Los Ñuñorcos
- PN Aconquija