Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea

Shrub or small tree, erect, usually as wide as tall. Stems hairless. Leaves deciduous, with 3–9 leaflets. Leaflets 3–8 in. long, oval to lance-shaped with pointed tip, sharply serrate. Flowers white, in large flat-topped inflorescence with central stem shorter and weaker than branches. Flowers small, round, with 5 petals. Blue-black berries covered with white waxy powder. Grows in mixed conifer forests, forest-steppe transitions, open talus slopes, at high elevations.