Elder
Sambucus nigraElder is a bushy shrub or small tree with many stems, common in hedges all over Britain. In June it carries flat cream plates of flowers. Its leaves smell unpleasant when bruised.
How to identify elder →
Michel Langeveld, CC BY 4.0
Mattia Menchetti, CC BY 4.0
Lookalikes
Elder or tree of heaven?
Both have feathered leaves and an unpleasant smell.
The quickest check
The quickest check is the leaflets on one leaf. Elder: five or seven. Tree of heaven: 11 to 21, in neat pairs. No leaves on the tree? Check the whole plant.
At a glance
| Look at | Elder | Tree of heaven |
|---|---|---|
| Leaflets on one leaf | Five or seven | 11 to 21, in neat pairs |
| Whole plant | Many-stemmed shrub, to 10 m | A tree to 28 m on a short trunk |
| Bare winter shoot | Creamy grey and warty, buds like small pineapples | Stout, finely velvety and reddish brown |
Three ways to tell them apart
Leaflets on one leafLeaves
Whole plantShape
Bare winter shootTwigs and buds
The two trees
Tree of heaven
Ailanthus altissimaTree of heaven is a tall town tree, especially common in London. Its huge leaves have a few big teeth at the base of each leaflet. Bruised, they smell foul.
How to identify tree of heaven →
In the app
See them side by side in Treely
- Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
- Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
- A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
- The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
Free to download.
Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.
Photographs: Michel Langeveld (CC BY 4.0), Mattia Menchetti (CC BY 4.0), steve_mcwilliam (CC0), Daniel Cahen (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.