The American elderberry is an attractive and useful plant whose only vice is the tendency to send out runners and pop up where you didn't plant it. This is a large shrub, 8-10' tall, with branches that start out upright and arch outward. The leaves are compound with usually 7 toothed leaflets. The light brown stems are covered with warty lenticels. The leaves and stems are mildly toxic. Large flat clusters of white flowers open in late June and July, followed by tiny black berries, relished by birds. The fruit is not palatable eaten fresh, but rather is turned into jelly or elderberry wine. It has also been used in cough syrup and other tonics. This woodland species is native throughout most of North America and into Central America, except in the mountainous regions of the west where the red elderberry is more common. It is closely related to the European elderberry.