There are numerous similarity betweenelderberries and chokecherries , but a few key differences will assist you differentiate between the plants . Chokecherries are member of the roseate fellowship , while elderberry are member of the honeysuckle family . Both may be found in the natural state or used in yards or gardens for their fruit , for cosmetic role or for screening .
Location
While both plant may be found growing near or along streams and roadway , elderberry plants need a moist growing web site ; chokecherry has the power to acquire on dry , jumpy hillsides and in plenty and prairie surroundings .
Size
Both plants may come out in tree or shrub form , but elderberry only attains 10 to 15 feet in elevation . Chokecherry may get hold of up to 30 feet in height and 10 to 20 feet wide . Chokecherry fruits are more or less larger and more broadly arranged than elderberries and grow to 1/4 to 1/2 inches in size , while elderberry fruits are usually 1/4 - inch or less .
Appearance: Bark and Leaves
Elderberry plants have soft stems and a smooth , thin , light gray - brown bark . The mature form has fissured barque . Young Prunus virginiana plants have smooth , cherry dark-brown bark . The barque of older plants becomes hoar - disastrous and remains smooth .
The glossy , oval - to - oblong - shaped leaf of chokecherry are alternate and finely serrated . Elderberry leave are serrated and have an opposite , compound placement . The coming into court of the arrangement is likened to that of a feather . Chokecherry foliage are short , 1 to 3 1/2 inches long , while elderberry leaves strive 6 1/2 inches in length .
Appearance: Flowers and Fruits
Both plants tend to flower and fruit around the same fourth dimension . Elderberry flowers are blank , and chokecherry flower are clean or pink and slightly more fragrant . Chokecherry flower are arrange in elongate cylindrical racemes . Elderberry plants bring about a large-minded bloom clustering with a bland top . The clustering can be up to a foot broad .
Chokecherry fruits attend like little cherries and are a gemstone yield . Chokecherry seeds are toxic . Elderberries have pocket-sized , edible seeds indoors , and elderberry blooms are eatable .
Most chokecherries experience the same colouring transition as elderberries , maturing from Marxist to purpleness or black ; however , some chokecherry variety may acquire dark reddish or livid fruit . The elderberry Sambucus racemosa produces a crimson - colored fruit take poisonous by many sources .
Uses
Both plants serve as a intellectual nourishment source for wildlife , including backyard bird , plot birds , cervid and small mammals . Chokecherry also provides book binding . Elderberry is considered utile as a livestock feed , while chokecherry is toxicant to cows and sheep .
The fruits of both plants have similar solid food uses . Chokecherries are name for the thorniness of the acerb fruit ; however , the dried Charles Edward Berry lose their bitterness , and boiling or drying of the fruits neutralizes the prussic acid content in the pits , according to the United States Department of Agriculture . Elderberries have a bland to bitter flavor unless swear out .
