Red Elderberry Attracts Wildlife Year Round
The pollinated and fertilized white flowers of Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) have recently developed into the red fruit for which this plant is named. Many people are familiar with its relative, Common Elderberry (S. canadensis), which produces dark purple fruit that is used to make jams, jellies, pies and elderberry wine. While Red Elderberry fruit can be used to make all of these, its raw berries are toxic. Red Elderberry’s popularity is greatest with pollinators, birds and four-footed mammals.
The cyanide-producing toxins in its flowers, (raw) fruit, stems, bark, leaves and roots do not seem to discourage wildlife’s attraction to Red Elderberry. The odor of its flowers, its nectar, and its highly nutritious pollen attract many ants, bees, wasps and flies. At least 50 species of songbirds eat the bright red fruits, including red-eyed vireos, ruffed grouse, song sparrows, gray catbirds, brown thrashers, and thrushes. Squirrels, mice, raccoons, and black bears also eat the fruit. Porcupines, mice and snowshoe hares eat the buds and bark in winter. The foliage is usually avoided by herbivores, although white-tailed deer and moose browse on it occasionally.
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Blue Vervain Flowering
Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) is a fairly tall (2 – 5 feet) flowering plant found in wet meadows. Its flower spikes branch upwards like the arms of a candelabra, and each has a ring of blue-purple flowers. The flowers at the bottom of the spike bloom first, and the ring of flowers advances upwards to the tips of the spike. Although Blue Vervain flowers have no scent, both long- and short-tongued bees are attracted to it primarily for its nectar, but also for its pollen. While Verbena Moth caterpillars feed on the foliage, most mammalian herbivores avoid eating this plant because of the bitter leaves. Various songbirds occasionally eat the seeds, including Cardinals, Swamp Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos.
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