Common Name: MUSKROOT FAMILY
Habit: [Perennial herb], subshrub to tree; hairs often stellate or glandular. Leaf: generally opposite, simple or compound, generally toothed; stipules generally 0. Flower: generally bisexual; calyx teeth or lobes [2]5; corolla small, radial, rotate, lobes [3--4]5; stamens [4]5, epipetalous; ovary +- inferior, chambers 1 or 3--5, 1-ovuled; styles +- 0 or 3--5. Fruit: drupe.
Genera In Family: 5 genera, 200 species: especially northern temperate, also South America, southeastern Asia, tropical Africa. Note: Incl in Caprifoliaceae in TJM (1993), and possibly in future.
Unabridged Note: Incl in Caprifoliaceae in TJM (1993), and possibly in future according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/welcome.html), which states, in part, "The whole lot might usefully be combined in a Caprifoliaceae s.l. (see also APG 2003), since similarities between the families are considerable and differences are mostly slight."
eFlora Treatment Author: Charles D. Bell
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti, Bruce G. Baldwin.

Common Name: ELDERBERRY
Habit: Generally shrub to small tree, deciduous; main trunk generally 0. Stem: pith large, spongy. Leaf: 1(2)-odd-pinnately compound; leaflets serrate. Inflorescence: panicle of cymes, terminal, generally +- dome-shaped. Flower: ovary chambers 3--5, ovules pendent; style +- 0, stigma lobes 3--5. Fruit: drupe, berry-like. Seed: 3--5.
Species In Genus: 20 species: temperate, subtropics some cultivated as ornamental. Etymology: (Greek: for stringed instrument made from wood of genus) Toxicity: Toxic in quantity (except cooked fruits).

Habit: Plant 1--6 m. Leaf: leaflets 5--7, 4--16 cm, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, base generally asymmetric, tip +- acuminate. Inflorescence: 4--12 cm diam, +- dome-shaped; central axis generally dominant. Flower: petals often reflexed. Fruit: red or purple-black, not glaucous.