Elderberry leaves vs. Water Hemlock Leaves

Sure about the elderberry, but not so about WH...can anyone confirm? Found in Wilmington North Carolina

if you cant identify a plant in one season, keep tabs on it and come back to see it again with blooms.

the thing with water hemlock and elderberry is water hemlock will never get to be a giant bush. they dont really like growing in the same areas either.

are you planning on eating the leaves or something?

Jonathan in Asheville wrote:Sure about the elderberry, but not so about WH...can anyone confirm? Found in Wilmington North Carolina

Elderberry has OPPOSING leaves...Water Hemlock has ALTERNATING leaves. BLACK ELDERBERRIES [ Sambucus Negra ] are EDIBLE when RIPE. Water Hemlock is VERY TOXIC [ contains chemicals that metabulize in the body into CYANIDE ]. ALL parts of BLACK ELDERBERRY plant are toxic including the UNRIPE FRUIT. BEst to BOIL the BLACK FRUIT when ripe for a few minutes ...any toxins will be driven off in the steam.

The compound leaf structure and red color between the nodes is certainly suspicious of Water Hemlock. The veins appear to terminate between the notches in the leaves which is also typical of Water Hemlock. See Green Deane's article for more info contrasting the difference between Elderberry and Water Hemlock Leaves:

http://www.eattheweeds.com/ufos-2/look-alikes/elderberry-or-water-hemlock/