What do elderberry bushes look like?

Elderberry bushes are flowering plants that belong to the Adoxaceae family, recognizable by their umbels of five-petaled flowers and known for their distinctive scent. The leaves of the elderberry bush have fine to nine leaflets between two and 11 inches in length.

Elderberry bushes are woody plants that have bark on both trunks and branches. These bushes produce white or cream-colored flowers and are common throughout many temperate and subtropical regions. Flowers typically blossom in the late spring followed by clusters of red, black or blue-black berries. These berries are edible once cooked, although the leaves, branches and seeds of the elderberry bush contain a cyanide-inducing glycoside.