I found this Elder in Ryebank Park surrounded by a bunch of raspberries. They are small deciduous, often rather untidy trees or large shrubs. The bole is usually short and an old bole often has fast-growing young shoots emerging from it.
The branches are spreading, numerous and twisted. Branches and twigs have white pith in the center.
The leaves are opposite and compound with 5-7, occasionally 9, pairs of leaflets. Each one up to 12cm long, ovate and pointed with a sharply toothed margin and slightly hairy underside. Green during the summer but sometimes turning a deep plumb-red before falling in autumn. Crushed leafs have an unpleasant 'catty' smell.
The bark is deeply grooved and furrowed bark and greyish- brown in colour. Older specimens often have a corky texture.
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