Its preferred habitat is wet hammocks, shallow ponds, along streams, margins of swamps & disturbed sites. It can be grown in the home landscape with a little extra watering, or maybe not. My friend, and fellow native gardener, Don Robinson grows his elderberry in the sandhills of Spring Hill and has it attaining almost champion size. So, don’t be afraid to try it in locations other than its preferred, wet, habitat.
Its leaves are opposite and pinnately compound. The leaflets are toothed and found in numbers of 5-9. The lower leaves may be trifoliate.The small white flowers are born in flat topped clusters, and bloom all year, however, their peak blooming time seems to be summer. The flowers can be used in pancake and fritter recipes once the stems have been removed.