Identify by feature
Shrub with black berries: which one is it, and is it poisonous?
In Belgium and the Netherlands, a shrub with black berries is usually an elder (in flat clusters), a privet (bunches that stay all winter), a bramble or a bird cherry; in gardens also blackcurrant and cherry laurel.
24 species with this feature
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Elder Sambucus nigra
Shrub
Hanging umbels of purple-black berries (Aug–Sept). Mildly poisonous raw, delicious cooked in syrup or jam.
Native
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Wild privet Ligustrum vulgare
Shrub
Glossy black berries that last all winter; poisonous.
NativePoisonous
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Alder buckthorn Frangula alnus
Shrub
Berries, first green, then red, black when ripe; poisonous.
NativePoisonous
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Common ivy Hedera helix
Climber
Bluish-black berries in late winter; poisonous to people, loved by birds.
NativePoisonous
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Buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica
Shrub
Round, black berries (6–8 mm) crowded along the twigs, in September–October; poisonous and strongly laxative.
NativePoisonous
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Snowy mespilus Amelanchier lamarckii
Shrub
Purplish-black, edible berries in June–July; birds love them.
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Wayfaring-tree Viburnum lantana
Shrub
Flattened, oval berries that turn from green through red to glossy black, often all colours at once in a single head (August–September); mildly poisonous.
NativePoisonous
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Cherry laurel Prunus laurocerasus
Shrub
Glossy black little cherries; seeds and leaves are poisonous.
Invasive non-native: do not plantPoisonous
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Black cherry Prunus serotina
Broadleaf tree
Black little cherries in late summer.
Invasive non-native: do not plantPoisonous
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Burnet rose Rosa spinosissima
Shrub
Round, glossy purplish-black hips (1–1.5 cm) still crowned with the sepals, in August–September.
Native
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St Lucie cherry Prunus mahaleb
Broadleaf tree
Small, bitter cherries 6–10 mm across, red at first and black when ripe, in July.
Native
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Black chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa
Shrub
Glossy black berries (6–10 mm) in clusters, August–September; astringent when raw.
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Black mulberry Morus nigra
Fruit tree
Purplish-black, juicy mulberries (2–3 cm) in July–August; they stain badly.
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Crowberry Empetrum nigrum
Dwarf shrub
Glossy black berries (5 mm), July–September; edible but bland.
Native
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Himalayan honeysuckle Leycesteria formosa
Shrub
Purplish-black berries between the red bracts in late summer.
Tip: Privet, alder buckthorn, buckthorn, ivy and cherry laurel are poisonous; elderberries are only eaten cooked. Birds love them all: black berries are an important winter store.